Mercury Rose
by FireFlyFlies
Summary: Sometimes I wonder if I really should still be alive, if I shouldn't have died together with the rest of my people. But if I had, I wouldn't have been here right now. I wouldn't have been on the Hunter-Gratzner. And most of all, I wouldn't have met him. And God was I happy I did. Riddick/OC
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note: **_

_**I watched the new Riddick movie a few days ago and I LOVED it. I just love him haha. So I decided to write an OC/Riddick story, in the hope it'll be interesting. I'm also busy with my other story of the walking dead though,and with school, so I'm not sure I'll update regularly. I'll just have to wait for the reviews, favorites and follows to see if I even continue it. It was just an idea that popped into my head, and this chapter is kind of an introduction of my OC. Hope you like it, please let me know :)**_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Riddick, seriously this is kind of depressing..._**

_Prologue_

Exiliria, a planet filled with unimaginable horrors and dangerous creatures. It was a place no one even wanted to lay eyes on. When you did, you instantly were filled with a feeling of dread. From a distance you would only see dark clouds surrounding the planet like a thick blanket. If, by chance, there was a small opening you could see through, you'd notice the emptiness. Long plain wastelands stretching out across the ground, nothing around for miles until you'd come across a creature so hideous you wished you'd never seen it. No wonder no one lived there.

There were rumors though, rumors about a world hidden behind that cloak of darkness. A world of dangerous grace and dark beauty, all hidden in plain sight. It was said that there were forests and grass fields where all kinds of plants could be found. Plants ranging from the exotic Mercury Rose to the common dandelions that infested every garden. These landscapes weren't visible though, they were hidden in the darkness that accompanied the underground world. And as animals would stalk those grounds, dangerous eyes glinting in the dark, my kind would know they were there.

Exilians, that is what we are called. Or at least, that it was we used to be called. Now there are not many left who can be categorized as 'those from the dark world'. The history of my kind is extensive, so many stories have been passed on from generation to generation. Now all those stories are lost, together with my world. There is one story I remember quite clearly though, one my mom used to tell me whenever I felt conflicted over my abilities.

"It all started thousands of years ago," She'd say with a dramatic undertone that always made me laugh. Even though I knew the story, I listened again and again, hanging from every word that left her lips because she was so good at telling it. "There was a group of settlers that lost control of their ship." She would continue. "As they couldn't call for help because of the clouds that obstructed their view of the sky, they were forced to scavenge through the area, trying to find some food or water."

The story continues like that a bit, as the group can't seem to find anything other than sand. They start out with 10 people, eventually there are 6 left when they find a place to hide from the upcoming thunderstorms. That place was a cave, leading to the underground world I grew up in. The legend goes that the pitch black darkness surrounding the world, in combination with the wide range of dangerous plants and animals, killed the others, except for two.

One of those two survivors was a young woman, born blind. During her life she had been forced to depend on her other senses, as she could not see. That was probably what saved her life in the dark several times. No animal could sneak up on her without her hearing the creature coming from miles away. No plant could try and kill her as she could smell the poison running through its stem.

Her senses alone wouldn't have been enough though, she would never have been able to live a full life alone. That is where the second survivor comes in, lending her his strength and his own abilities.

He was a young man, blessed with the gift his people bestowed on him, night vision. There was an animal part inside of him which made most animals fond of him, and those who weren't he could manipulate long enough to kill them. The larger part of his animal side lay dormant however, his senses weren't as developed as the woman's were. If she hadn't been there, he would've often missed things happening around him and he would've ended up dead.

You could say they completed each other, and made it possible for the both of them to survive in that dark world. That is how my kind looked at our ancestors, filled with respect and love. The planet had been buzzing with life the moment they arrived there. And after about a year, a new species was created. The Exilians.

The prime time for our species was over a hundred years ago. Our people and the world we lived in were getting along great, there was balance. Children were born with the abilities of our ancestors, senses enhanced and able to see in the dark. Some of these children were trained so they could go outside, into the light. As we lived in darkness, there was no need for vision in light. Trades, and other things involving ships, had to be done outside however, in the light. Those who went outside underwent grave training so they could handle themselves without sight. The others, the common citizens, didn't concern themselves with the fact that they would be helpless in the light.

One day everything changed, a war raged and people died. Our line of defense got overrun and nature wasn't strong enough by itself to kill them all. Our kind's numbers dropped momentarily and only a few were able to flee deeper into the dark forests.

The attackers left, convinced that this world was dead. It wasn't. Not yet. But the balance was disturbed, and things went haywire.

In the following years, whenever a child was born, it was blind. A lot of children were also deaf, couldn't smell, or were paralyzed. These children died quickly, either natural or they were killed by their parents because of their suffering. As nature was out of balance, animals started to attack both each other and us with no particular reason. A lot of children also died because of that. That war that had raged, had been the start of the end of my life, and I hadn't even been born yet.

My parents never wanted a child. They never wanted to see their flesh and blood be born with no capability to do anything. Both of them had been born blind, in the first wave of those births, but they had been able to survive with help from each other.

When my mother found out that she was pregnant, she cried for weeks. As I grew inside of her though, she felt something, something powerful emitting from me. She told my father and my grandmother, who both became hopeful at her words.

They called it a miracle, and that's what it was. I wasn't blind, nor deaf and I was able to move. They tested my sense of smell when I was a few months older, holding a poisonous plant in front of me. My grandmother told me that when I wrinkled my nose at the plant, they were the happiest people that ever had existed. I was healthy, I was perfect and I was normal.

I didn't grow up as 'normal' however. My grandfather convinced my parents to raise me with a blindfold on, at least most of the times. He never said why, but now I understand. I went through extensive training, with the blindfold, and learned how to fight in the dark. I was taught how to handle myself by my father and his friends, who all cared for me like a daughter. I also developed my other senses, hearing the slightest of sounds, smelling the softest of smells and sensing the smallest of moves. At the age of 10 I was probably better trained than a 34 year old army officer.

One day, when I wasn't scheduled for some training exercise, I went into the woods to see what was out there. I'd been forbidden to go, but I was convinced enough of my skills that I went anyway. I was walking around, kneeling down beside plants to inspect them, when suddenly I heard a small sound to my right. I snapped my head up and quickly saw what was lurking in the bush, an animal. I wasn't scared though, like most would be after hearing all kinds of horrible stories about animals in this forest, instead I was intrigued. I stared right into its eyes, as it stared back at me. I took a small step closer and reached out with my hand, waiting patiently. The animal, which I later would find out was one of the most vicious creatures in the universe, took a hesitant step closer. After another step I was able to touch it, my hand against its nose. At that moment it became my best friend.

When our world went to hell once again, which was just a year later, I was forced to leave everyone behind. I still hear my parents scream in my sleep sometimes. I fled to the forest, my survival instincts taking over. The hell hound I had befriended before was very protective of me, and, as I was only 12, I soon started seeing her as a second mother. I started thinking as an animal from then on, as I was surrounded by them every day. My senses became even more enhanced and I became better with animals than ever before. Once in a while I'd talk to myself out loud, just so I wouldn't forget words. They might be useless here, but I didn't want to lose that one thing I had left from my previous life.

Now I'm glad I remembered those words, it was much easier to survive like that. 'Turning off' you're animal side also helped a lot with communicating. I'm 28 now and am still alive. Sometimes I wonder if I really should be, if I shouldn't have died on my home planet. But if I had, I wouldn't have been on the Hunter-Gratzner. I wouldn't have met him. And god, was I happy I did.


	2. The Chuckle That Made My Blood Boil

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Hello dear readers,**_

_**I am so glad with the favorites, follows and reviews I've gotten for the start of this story. I really hope I don't disappoint you with this next chapter... Please let me know what you think! Every review is appreciated!**_

_**Special thanks to: Silver Katsuyami, Jess and DeathsQueen26 for the reviews!**_

_Chapter 1: The Chuckle That Made My Blood Boil_

It's said that during Cryo-sleep your brain shuts down and you will not be aware of your surroundings. The first time I got into one of those tubes I prepared myself to sleep for weeks, which the instructor had told us would happen. 'Just relax and close your eyes.' The woman had said. 'Everything will be fine.' Well, it wasn't. Turns out they avoided telling us one vital part of Cryo-Sleep, namely that the only thing that actually shuts down is your human, rational, side. Now everyone has an animal side, it just depends on the individual how much influence that side has. Considering _my _animal side had developed during the years I spent in the wild, I had found myself wide awake every time I traveled.

It was _that _first time that had scared the shit out of me. I had been locked in a tube, nowhere to run or hide like my instincts were telling me to do. I was vulnerable and almost couldn't move in that small space. Add the fact that there was too much light in the ship, which meant I hadn't been able to see a damn thing, and you know how I felt. After that first time it took me a year to dare and travel like that again, starting with short distances because I still hadn't completely trusted it.

Now, several years later, I am used to it. Being stuck in a tube was the most normal thing in the world for me. I had soon figured out how I could best spend my time, doing something that would take my mind off the fact I was stuck in a small space. I would just keep my eyes closed and focus on my other senses. In truth it didn't really matter if I kept my eyes closed or not, I wouldn't be able to see anyway, but it was more comfortable to keep my eyes closed for long periods of time. Plus I was supposed to be asleep and I wouldn't want anyone catching me with my eyes open. I didn't know what exactly would happen, but something told me it wouldn't be good.

The other passengers were deeply asleep and I found myself wishing I could do the same. I might know how to pass the time over long trips, but that didn't mean I particularly liked it. I must've gone over the smells around me a thousand times already, but sometimes I would pick up something I hadn't noticed before, and that was about the only thing that kept me interested.

I stifled a yawn, which was from boredom more than from weariness, and took a deep breath through my nose, like I had done so many times before.

There were all kinds of different smells surrounding me, male and female, young and old, just to name a few. Most of them weren't very interesting though. I had been able to count how many passengers were on board by the variety of fragrances. If I was correct there were about forty people on the ship, including three crew members. Most of them weren't anything special, smelled of body lotions, sweat, shampoo or other ordinary things. It was quite funny how the most interesting smells came from the people closest to me.

Like I said before, there are three crew members, somewhere to my far right. There was a woman that smelled of work and sweat. I had heard her walk through the ship right after we had taken off. She had been wearing boots at the time and her fast pace made it clear that she enjoyed her job but still couldn't help but be nervous, probably of the Cryo-sleep. That fact also made it obvious she was the most inexperienced of the three crew members, as the other two had been a lot more relaxed.

I had also heard the clanging of tools which suggested she was wearing a tool belt. The last time I smelled her scent I had noticed a faint leathery smell, maybe from something she was wearing? If I concentrated more I could smell something else, something coming from deep within the woman, the smell of survival. Not the animal kind, based on instincts, but the kind that originated from the fear of death.

The other two crew members were both men, wearing the same gear as the woman. They obviously loved their jobs, which could be heard from their conversations and laughter right before we took off. They had done this many times before and they smelt of satisfaction, honesty and hard work.

A bit closer to my right was another man, a passenger this time. He was middle-aged, somewhere in his forties if I was right. He smelt of antiques, old and musty. I could also smell his luggage, kept within the Cryo-tube, probably because he cared about the bag's contents. It smelled of wood, wood polish and alcohol. That same smell of alcohol surrounded the man himself, but he wasn't an alcoholic. How did I know this? Several reasons really. First of all, his blood was clean at the moment which meant he hadn't had a drink before we took off. Second, I could recognize cheap booze by it's scent, and what he was carrying wasn't cheap. It smelled more refined, expensive, taken care of. The man himself wasn't refined though, quite the opposite. He was a coward. I remember how he had been acting like a cissy while boarding the ship. He hadn't liked small spaces and so had given quite some trouble before he entered the Cryo-tube reluctantly.

Apart from him there was also a holy man, with three younger passengers next to him. They all smelled about the same, candles, faith and old robes. They had something serene about them and I kind of liked the smell. I'd heard them speak in Arabian, though I could be mistaken considering I didn't know many other languages, and had overheard them talking about New Mecca, where I guessed they were heading.

There was also a pair of free settlers, who were on my left. They smelt of exotic travels. I could smell several plants and animals they had been in touch with recently, all having left their scent on the two. They hadn't been able to shower in some time now, considering the scents were quite strong. Their body odors were intermingled, making it clear that they were lovers.

A stowaway, who I had noticed the moment we had taken off, was on the ship too. She smelt of fear, even though her defiance masked it well. I had felt her eyes on me as we had been waiting in line to board. The way she had been shifting her weight from one foot to another, her shoes making the slightest of noise every time she did so, gave away the fact that she was nervous and wanted someone she could talk to. In the end she didn't find anyone, her strength radiating from her as she decided to keep to herself. I couldn't help but wonder about her, and why she was here, but I would probably never find out.

At last there were the two scents that had stood out the most. One was to my immediate right, the other one across from me. I'd heard, and felt, them pass me right before we boarded and I hadn't been able to forget about either of them.

The one to my immediate right was a merc, no doubt about it. As he had passed me I stiffened, not sure what to do, or why he was here. I have had my fair share of encounters with mercs, for reasons that are best left unsaid, and so I knew how they all had the same distinctive smell about them. The foul stench of death. The smell of screams leaving innocent mouths, of houses being burnt to the ground and of blood running through the streets. It was a smell my nose was trained to detect from miles away, and avoid at all costs, but this time it had been different.

He had introduced himself as a cop to one of the crew members; I had decided to listen in to the conversation. He had told the man that the person with him was a dangerous convict he was transporting to a prison. I had narrowed my eyes at those words, that crew member couldn't possibly believe him, could he? Apparently he could, didn't even question the guy. It was insane. There were special transport ships to take prisoners to prison! Everyone knew that! Not that it mattered, _I_ was relieved anyway. It meant the guy wouldn't come after me, which was good to know. The guy also smelt of morphine, he was definitely an addict. I could almost taste the medicinal smell on my tongue, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust. Knowing the flaws of your opponent however, was quite the advantage.

Last, but in no way least, it was the 'dangerous' convict. He was by far the most intriguing smell I'd ever encountered, and I had encountered billions. He smelled of death, survival and masculinity, the mix was strangely alluring to my animal side. I found myself wanting to be as close to him as possible, as if I was being pulled by some invisible force.

The smell of death that surrounded him wasn't the same as the smell around the merc. No innocent screams or blood running through the streets. This creature smelled of an honest and carefully considered deaths, I was pretty sure he wouldn't purposefully hurt an innocent soul.

The sense of survival that oozed from him wasn't the same as the female crew member had. Instead it was the same instincts based survival sense I had, the animal kind. A sense that is etched into your heart the day you are born and will not leave you until you die.

There was something else, something I hadn't been able to put my finger on until now.

He was awake, just like I was.

His calm heartbeat and controlled breathing had had me fooled. I had had no reason to question whether he was, or wasn't, asleep, considering everyone else seemed to be. The only reason I noticed now was that there had been the slightest of erratic beating of the heart, which would never occur in Cryo-sleep. I froze as the fact hit me, _what the hell?_

It was less than a whisper of a chuckle, anyone else probably would've missed it, but I heard. It was a harmless chuckle, only amused by my lack of attention, but it made my insides boil and I couldn't suppress that small growl leaving my lips.

This only resulted in another low chuckle, radiating dominance all over. The worst of all was that the sound, for some reason, made my animal side want to be even closer to him. It made me want to break out of this damn tube and close the distance between us, but I couldn't. I was stuck and that made me growl again, only in frustration this time.

My growl was cut short however by a sudden movement of the ship. My forehead hit the glass of the tube and a as a sharp pain went through my head I felt blood trickle down the side of my face. I stopped myself from cursing, knowing it would do no good, and instead made myself focus on what the hell was happening.

I could make out noises, the sound of two crew members discussing something. I also heard things hitting the ship. Truth was that it was no use whatsoever to be able to hear things now, I still couldn't make out what was happening.

I felt with my hand for the lever that would release me from this prison, but it took me a while to actually find it. When I did I let out a sigh of relief and pulled it.

As the tube opened the ship shook again, making it impossible for me to land on my feet. Instead I ended up on my back. It took me less than a second to roll over to my feet and landing in a crouch. The pain in my head had dulled slightly and I took a whiff of the air around me. I noticed that the smell of the alluring creature was stronger here, which meant he was closer. Actually, my senses told me he was right next to me now.

I couldn't see him, however bad I wanted to. Truth was that I couldn't see anything. The only time that I can see perfectly is if there is little to no light. Now everything was more of a grey mass, no colors, no shapes. This meant that there weren't any bright lights, because then my vision would be completely white, but it wasn't dark enough for me to see either. The only thing I _could _distinguish was a moving figure, the dark grey outlines moving slightly my way. I straightened, positive that the figure would see me, guess I was wrong. The person bumped right into me, making us both tumble to the floor.

"What the fuck?" The person, who's scent made me wrinkle my nose in disgust, asked as he pushed himself off of me again. "What the hell happened?"

I didn't answer, instead I got to my feet again and was trying to make out what expression he was wearing. Eventually, as my vision returned to the grey mass it had been before, I gave up. I couldn't make out what he looked like, just that he was a tiny bit taller than me, which I knew because of where his voice came from.

"I asked you a question." His voice sounded, obviously irritated at the lack of an answer. I narrowed my eyes and wanted to snap at him but before I could a low, warning, growl came from my right, from the convict.

I heard the merc take a step closer to the convict's tube. "Shut it." He hissed at the guy and then faced me again before the convict could say something. "What happened?" He snapped again.

To say I was annoyed was an understatement. Somehow, him snapping at the convict to 'shut it' made my blood boil even more than before. I couldn't openly tell him to be nicer though, how the hell could I do that? So instead I settled with an angry question right back.

"How the fuck should I know?" I asked him. "Do I look like the fucking captain?"

It was a slight rumble, the merc didn't notice, but I knew it was the convict who was laughing at what I'd said unnoticeably. That made me smirk, which the merc didn't seem to like as he took a step closer. His scent got stronger and I cringed back as it burnt my nose. Why would someone want to be addicted to something that smelled so damn gross?

I wasn't sure what he was about to say, but he was cut off by a sudden turbulence of the ship.

I would've been able to keep my balance in my previous position, but as I had taken a step back from the merc, my stance wasn't as fast anymore. The sudden movement of the ship consequently slammed me backwards against another tube. This time it was the back of my head that cracked the glass, and a sharp pain went through me. Everything around me turned black, but I didn't pass out until I heard a loud growl filling the ship, a growl that wasn't mine. It made me feel safe as I slipped into darkness.


	3. So Close, So Painful

_**Author's note: Thanks everyone for the follows and favorites! Special thanks to those who reviewed, I love the fact you like this :) **_

_**This chapter has a part Riddick's POV in it! (same events just described from both POVS, this will not be how the rest of the story will be told, but with this chapter it just felt right) Hope you like it, please let me know if you want more of Riddick POV parts or not!**_

_**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!**_

_Chapter 2: So close, so painful_

"Don't move."

I wasn't entirely sure where the words had come from. They could've been a figment of my imagination, or my instincts talking to me. Something told me however that it had been said by someone else, someone who was standing close to my right. My body felt heavy and my senses were dulled. It felt like something was pressing me down, keeping me from moving, even from breathing correctly. There was a haze of darkness that surrounded me, but not the kind that I felt safe in. I was trapped in my own body, and, apart from the words I'd heard earlier, I couldn't hear a thing.

I tried to move my hand, my foot, anything. When I found I couldn't I wanted to let out a growl of frustration, but even that was impossible. I didn't like this, I felt vulnerable. Except for the fact that I knew I wasn't alone, I was clueless to my surroundings.

The first thing I noticed was a smell. It was a whiff, nothing more, but I instantly recognized the scent. My heart rate quickened and I felt the need to move grow. He was close, if I just woke up now I would be able to talk to him, touch him, smell him. I forced my thoughts to focus on one thing, moving my fingers. It took me a few seconds to get my fingers to twitch, but as I did the control over my body slowly returned to me again. When I was fairly sure I would be able to sit up if I tried really hard, I started moving my arm so I could push myself up. A snarl from my right made me freeze before I could however.

"I said," The convict beside me hissed. "Don't move!"

My arm relaxed without me even deciding to do it. The hairs on my neck and arm rose as I felt his fingers lift the hem of my shirt. _What is he doing? _I asked myself, opening my eyes slowly. It was no use really, there was still too much light around for me to see, but at least I looked a little more aware of my surroundings. I tried to lift my head a little but a sharp pain in my side made me lie back down instantly, a soft whimper escaping my lips before I could contain it.

He pulled his hand back from my side immediately and I felt his eyes inspect me. His breathing was calm and collected, like his heartbeat, and I felt myself calming down at the sounds. There was something else I could hear, a persisting noise in my ear that didn't seem to want to leave me alone. I dismissed it as something that must've been caused by the hitting of my head earlier.

More and more of my surroundings was getting clear. My mouth was dry and I tasted blood on my tongue, which wasn't a taste I could say I liked much. As I breathed in though I was able to taste the air as well. It was denser, no wonder that I'd felt like something was pressing on my chest. It was getting less bad by the second though, my body was good at adapting itself. There was a sound of metal as well, as the convict took a step closer to me. He must still be wearing his cuffs. The body heat radiating from him grew warmer as he got closer, and I felt it against my skin. He traced my side again, until he reached whatever was causing that burning pain. He carefully started prodding around the wound, as if he were testing something. I was able to control my whimpers but it hurt badly.

"What is it?" I asked, my voice hoarse and pained.

He grumbled something I didn't understand, followed by a low sigh. "There's a shard of glass sticking out of your side."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back a bit, gritting my teeth. "Pull it out." I told him without thinking all too much about it. If I did I would start hesitating, and that is one thing that you shouldn't do, ever.

"You sure?" He asked, sounding a bit surprised. I raised an eyebrow, who exactly had marked this creature a dangerous man?

"It's not like we can leave it in," I countered. I wasn't sure what had made me say 'we', as if it concerned him as well, but I didn't have all that long to think about it as suddenly a new pressure started on my side, the pain increasing from what had felt like knives being stuck in my side to someone cutting my side up with them. I squeezed my eyes shut and locked my teeth together not to scream out in pain as the shard of glass was pulled out.

I smelled blood, my blood, and a whole lot of it. I felt exhausted and slowly felt myself slip away again, I didn't want to yet though. I wanted to know one last thing before everything would go black.

"What's your name?"

It was softer than I'd meant it to be and I wasn't sure if he'd heard me. I didn't have the strength to repeat it though, so I could only hope. Turns out he had heard me, as he answered me right before I slipped away. Now the only thing left to do was hope I'd wake up and meet him again. 'Him' finally having a name.

_Richard b. Riddick_

* * *

Riddick's POV

She was a stubborn girl, that was for sure. I'd told her not to move, and what did she do?

Normally I would've gotten annoyed to say the least, might've even left her behind for not listening, but this time it was different. I had been more worried about her hurting herself than her not listening to me. After telling her a second time to stay still, she did listen, relaxing a little. I carefully lifted the hem of her shirt, so I could get a better look at the wound in her side.

I'd heard her fall as the ship suddenly had started shaking, but I only noticed she was wounded the moment I'd seen her from up close. There had been blood on her shirt and her head had been hanging limp against her shoulder as she sat against a fallen over Cryo-tube, unconscious. I had felt a certain protectiveness take a hold of me, the same that had made me growl when the blue-eyed devil had posed a threat to her earlier, and before I knew it I'd picked her up and was carrying her with me to where I was planning on hiding. When I'd found a good spot I put her down on the floor and examined her from head to toe for the first time.

I'd noticed her before, the way she had stiffened when we passed had alarmed me. The stiffening in itself wasn't that weird, people's instincts told them I was dangerous so it was only a natural reaction, but the _reason_ for her to stiffen was strange. It wasn't me she had been careful of, it had been Johns. She had recognized what he was, which meant she had been in contact with mercs before.

After that moment I'd watched her closely, using my other senses, considering the blindfold kept me from seeing anything to keep track of her. I'd noticed the strength radiating from her, including her survival instincts. She didn't need others to take care of her, she'd do it herself. There was something else about her, something special, and it wasn't the animalistic side to her I'd noticed when I found her awake during Cryo-sleep. It was something else, but I couldn't quite grasp it.

While I was unable to see I'd used my nose to know where she was, if she was close or not. It wasn't hard to keep track of her, her scent as distinctive as everyone's was, but so much better. There was no fake deodorant scent, or perfume that would burn my nostrils, she was all natural. She smelt of wild flowers, a little spicier, and the animal inside of me wanted to run to her and bury his face in her hair to bask in that scent. I couldn't though, that would attract Johns' attention and I didn't want him anywhere near her.

I examined her wound closely, ignoring thoughts about the merc. He didn't matter and right now there were a lot more important things to attend to, like for example the piece of glass sticking out of this girl's side. I reached out but quickly pulled my hand away the moment a whimper escaped her lips. It was stupid, considering it was inevitable, but I was afraid of hurting her. This thing had to come out though.

I leaned in closer and reached out again. My cuffs were annoying the hell out of me but there wasn't much time to think about that so I decided to deal with it later. I slowly traced her skin, wanting to hurt her as less as possible, and slowly moved towards the wound. The soft feel of her skin underneath my fingertips felt good, and I wished she wasn't wounded, maybe then-

I focused on the place where the glass was stuck instead of letting my mind wander, prodding the wound softly to see how deep it was. It didn't seem all too deep, but it would bleed a lot if I pulled it out anyway, might've hit an artery. She was rigid and I knew I was hurting her, which made me frown slightly.

"What is it?"

Her question had come suddenly, voice hoarse and pained, and it made me look up at her. She had long charcoal black hair, which stood out against her pale skin. I guessed she didn't get too much sunlight normally but it didn't matter, she was beautiful. She had her head tilted back slightly and so I couldn't see her face, or her eyes, right now but I could see from her body language that she was relaxed, though in pain.

She hadn't seen the wound yet, which might be the reason she was this calm. On the other hand, she didn't seem like the type to panic at the sight of blood. I still wasn't sure if I should tell her what had happened though and a start of a growl of frustration started leaving my lips. I stopped it in time and sighed instead.

"There's a shard of glass sticking out of your side." I answered honestly. It was silent for a moment, except for her teeth gritting together.

"Pull it out." She eventually said through clenched teeth. She didn't sound all that sure about what she'd said and I frowned. I hadn't expected her to freak out after telling her what exactly was going on, but this was something I hadn't expected either.

"You sure?" I asked without thinking. Normally I would've pulled it out without hesitation, or just left the person here because she practically had ordered me around. But I couldn't do either of those things, there was something about her that made me want to help and I didn't want to hurt her.

"It's not like we can leave it in," She said with a slightly sarcastic edge to her voice. Well I had to admit she was right about that. I nodded once, taking ahold of the glass and narrowing my eyes. I pulled it out quickly, to make it as painless as possible for her, but her rigid body told me it wasn't exactly working.

Blood started welling up the moment the glass was out of her side and small trails ran down her skin. I saw her body slowly relaxing again, knowing exactly what was happening. Her body was turning on its defense mechanism against pain, shutting itself down. Before she was gone however she asked me something. It was soft, but my ears picked it up none the less. She was on the verge of losing consciousness and she asked me what my name was, I smirked at that fact and walked up to her side so I could see her face.

"Riddick." I told her. "Richard B. Riddick."

The moment I'd said it she fell into unconsciousness, her face relaxing. I noticed a small scar, just above her eyebrow, and traced it softly with the tip of my finger. There weren't many women nowadays who walked around with scars, which were thought to be hideous things, not since there were ways to make them disappear.

I never thought of scars as unattractive though, they told a story and showed strength. I wanted to know the story behind this scar, I wanted to know the story behind this girl.

Suddenly I heard footsteps coming towards me, fast and determined. I guess Johns found out I had escaped.


	4. A Planet Of Life And Future Deaths

_**Author's note: Special thanks to Rosmund Chadwick for reviewing, you're the reason for this quick update today! :) Also thanks to those who favorited or followed my story (or did both) 3**_

_**Hope you like this chapter as well!**_

_Chapter 3: A Planet Of Life And Future Deaths_

There used to be uninhabited islands, at least people believed they existed. Truth is they don't. There are always living creatures around, even if you don't immediately see or recognize them. It's the same with planets, they always have at least one life form. This one had many, used to have even more. I can hear it, the echoes of creatures having lived here thousands of years ago still around. Not only those cries can be heard though, there is more. That 'persistent noise' I'd heard earlier was much more than I had originally thought. I think my senses had been dulled by the head blow I'd gotten when the ship crashed. Now they were as sharp as ever though, giving me access to a world no one else seemed to be aware of.

They live underground, a whole system of tunnels connecting to each other. The angry screeches they were making bounced off of the walls of those tunnels, reaching all over the planet. They weren't happy with us 'invading' their home like this, and I couldn't blame them. There were more sounds, like the sharpening of claws against the sides of the tunnels, readying themselves for an attack on us. For now we were safe though, at least I guessed we were. I'd heard several of the creatures trying to get outside to be able to come after us, but their pained shrieks made it clear they couldn't come out in sunlight. When they would get out however, let's just say it would be better for us to be gone by then.

I felt a certain longing to be down there with them. It was my animal side, the side that wanted to get home again and be able to live in the darkness that accompanied the underground world. I knew though that this place wouldn't be the same as home was, nothing would ever be, and returning wasn't an option either.

There were more sounds. The running of a stream of water, the flapping of smaller wings and a lot of heartbeats, all differently paced but quicker than the human heart. Talking about human hearts, I heard two of them near me.

The heartbeats weren't the same calm pace that the convict had had, not even close. These were as irregular as a heartbeat gets, with humans anyway. I also heard their breaths, they were having difficulty breathing in the air here.

I breathed through my nose to get an idea of who they were. To my close right was the female free settler. I could smell the sweat on her and heard her breaths hitch as she was breathing in too deep. She was unaware of the young girl that was hiding on the other side of the room, behind some scrap metal from the crash I guessed. Her breaths were slower, but she was still not getting enough oxygen.

There were more smells surrounding me. One of them belonged to Riddick, though his smell was intermingled with the merc's morphine smell. I didn't like that fact, as it suggested he'd been caught again. He had lingered around to help me, which meant that if he had been caught it was my fault, and I didn't like that one bit.

I opened my eyed and subsequently squeezed them shut again. It was still grey around me, nothing new, but the light made my head ache. I let out an annoyed groan as I tried to get up to a sitting position.

"Stay still." The free settler said, with an Australian accent, after noticing what my intentions were. She sounded surprised by the fact I was awake already. "You got hurt pretty bad." She explained as she pushed me down lightly against my shoulder. I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I generally didn't like people telling me what to do and mostly didn't do as told either, though there were exceptions from time to time. That's why the moment her hand left my shoulder I tried to sit up again, soon wishing I had listened to her instead of being my stubborn self.

It felt like a thousand needles were being pressed into my side all at the same time. I reached for the wound and touched it lightly, not knowing how it looked. The touch sent a sharp pain through my whole body and I gritted my teeth together. I did however now know that I'd been stitched up by someone, actual staples in my side that held it together.

"What happened?" I asked, my teeth clenched as the pain was taking way too long to fade.

She sighed, obviously not happy that I'd ignored her order of staying still. "You got hurt." She simply said.

I raised an eyebrow at her and wondered if she was being sarcastic or not. Her voice didn't imply it, but you could never know for sure.

"Johns found you here, stab wound in your side and a shard of glass next to you." She continued, making me stick with the fact she had been serious as she said I'd been hurt, as if I didn't know that. "We're not sure if it happened during the crash or.." she hesitated this time before continuing.

"Or what?" I asked, not being the very patient type. I could be very patient if I needed to be, just not with people. Somewhere in the back of my mind I noted that I didn't know who 'Johns' was, but I'd probably found out later anyway.

"Or if you were attacked."

"Attacked?" I asked incredulously. Who the hell would attack someone they didn't know? And if they had, why wouldn't they kill me instead of just wound me? No, this wasn't an attack.

"There was a prisoner on the ship, being transported by a cop. We found him a few minutes later, covered in blood." She pointed out.

"Let me guess," I started. "Johns says there might be a chance I was attacked by that guy?"

I heard her hair stroke past her shoulders, the smallest of sounds indicating that she was nodding. "How'd you know?"

_Because that is exactly what mercs do. Lie until everyone's scared of their prisoner. _I thought. I didn't say it out loud though, instead I shrugged. "Sounds like what a cop would say." I said. "What I don't get however, is what reason he would have to attack me."

She didn't seem to know how to answer that, silence taking over for a while. "I don't know." She admitted finally. "He's a murderer, he probably gets off on it or something."

I shook my head incredulously but didn't say anything to counter her claims. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I could tell her he had helped me, had made me feel safer than I'd ever felt before, but that just didn't sit right. I was pretty sure she wouldn't trust me anymore if I told her that, and I couldn't afford that.

She got up, sensing that our conversation about the subject was done. "I'll go tell the others you're awake. Don't get up yet, I first have to take a look at your stitches." She instructed.

I nodded, making a face at the sound of the word stitches. I'd always hated stitches. They were something to speed up a natural process, and that wasn't supposed to happen. Of course it's easy to think like that when you're not the one getting wounded, or the one who has a faster recovery than others, but still.

I waited until the sound of the free settler's footsteps were outside when I looked to where the young girl was hiding.

"You can come out now." I said out loud. "She's gone."

I heard her holding her breath in surprise and it took her a while to straighten and walk towards me hesitantly, her footsteps light and careful. "How did you know I was there?" She asked, fascinated.

I smiled at where the sound of the young girl's voice came from. "I have my ways." I told her. "If I tell you however, I'd have to kill you."

She chuckled at what I'd said and came standing in front of me. I was able to keep track of her through my sense of smell and sense of hearing, like I was able to keep track of the free settler, who was now talking to the rest of the survivors, telling them that I had woken up. I suddenly wondered how long I'd been out for and decided to ask the girl.

I heard the sound of a shrug, "About two hours or so? I'm not entirely sure."

I nodded, muttering a thanks and taking a deep breath before pushing myself off the steel bar I'd been sitting on. I wasn't in the same room as I'd been the first time I woke up. They must've moved me. There was more light in here and I didn't exactly like that fact, though I couldn't do much about it either.

"Shazza said you had to stay seated!" The girl tried to protest, sounding worried. "Your wounds have to heal."

"I'll be fine." I told the kid with a reassuring smile. "So what's your name?" I asked her, trying to distract her from the fact I was disobeying orders and myself from the stabbing pain in my side.

She shifted from one foot to another for a second, and I knew she was lying before she even said anything. That's what humans do, they make arbitrary movements that have nothing to do with answering the question. "Jack." She replied, trying to make it sound more masculine. So she was acting like a boy, I thought to myself. I didn't comment on it, believing that whatever reason she had for doing so must be a good one. When I smiled and acted like I believed her she relaxed again.

"You?" She asked curiously.

"Xia." I answered, reaching up to the back of my head, absentmindedly feeling for the wound I'd gotten when hitting my head. It had already scabbed over, which was a good recovery. I had a sped up process of healing, the aftermath of having eaten so much medicinal herbs in the past. The formula ran through my blood stream, making me more resistant for diseases and helped me heal whenever I got hurt.

"That is such a cool name!" Jack exclaimed, making me smile. "So does it hurt?"

I must've looked confused because she soon elaborated. "You're wound, does it hurt?"

I shrugged, taken aback by the question. "It's ok." I said, not planning on showing weakness. I'd already done that before, in front of a dangerous convict, that should be enough for now.

"Shazza stitched it up by herself, you know. Disinfected it with Paris' booze." She said proudly, as if the woman was her mother. She wasn't though, I would've smelled that. I guessed however that the girl had run away from her parents, which meant she'd look up to about everyone who could form a mother figure.

"Paris?" I asked her, not knowing the name.

"Oh right," She started, sounding guilty. "You haven't met the others yet."

I shook my head, seeing an opportunity to get her talking, and to get my mind off of my wounds. "You can tell me about them if you'd like." I said.

"I'd love to!" She almost squealed, realizing her mistake quickly though. "I mean," she corrected. "I could." She made her voice sound slightly lower. She really was trying to hide the fact she was a girl. Not that it mattered, I wasn't going to be the one to reveal her secret, had too many of my own.

The kid started ranting about a lot of unnecessary things, but I didn't interrupt her. I kind of liked the sound of her excited voice, and was patient enough to wait for the things I wanted to hear. The first thing being how the ship crashed, which she didn't have an answer for. She continued with telling me about the other passengers, small bits of information were new but most of it I'd already smelt during the flight. There had been a crew member that had died already, which the girl told with a sad voice, but she soon recovered as she told about the convict, Riddick.

It sounded like she had heard about him before, she sure was amazed by him. She told me that he was being held on the other side of the ship, chained because he would escape otherwise. He was dangerous, had already escaped from a maximum security prison, which was why he was being transported by the cop to another kind of prison.


	5. First Experience

**_Author's note: Hello there readers, first of all thanks for reading! Second, I want to send my special thanks to aLeXaNdRaSaInSbUrY for reviewing! And of course Sapphire for the guest review! I hope you all like this chapter, please let me know what you think ^^_**

_Chapter 4: First experience_

By the time Jack was finished telling me about what had happened and about who the other survivors were, Shazza returned. She froze in the doorway as she noticed us. I'd sat back down again, listening to Jack's story and the young girl had taken place on the ground in front of me.

"Were you hiding in here?" She asked the girl accusingly. I heard Jack chuckle nervously and smiled at the free settler.

"He was keeping me company." I told her reassuringly. "Told me most of what I needed to know."

It stayed silent a moment and I could imagine the narrowing of her eyes at the girl right now. "Well ok then." She finally said with a sigh, walking towards us.

"Could I take a look at your stitches, please?" She asked me, taking place beside me. I nodded taking the hem of my shirt and pulling it up, careful not to touch the wound. I felt her lean in and touch it lightly, making me cringe. She didn't pull back though, instead she pushed harder. I locked my teeth and closed my eyes, waiting for her to finish whatever inspection she was holding. When she finally leaned back again and dropped her hand I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Looks good." She commented. "You'll have to keep it clean with some of the alcohol we got here."

"I will," I told her.

She sighed and got up, "Come on Jack." She called out to the young girl. "She has to rest and when you're here that's impossible."

Jack let out a whine, "Aw come on!" But Shazza didn't sound like she was going to move until the girl would give in. Normally I would've told Jack she could stay, keep me company, but I had plans for when they left and those plans didn't involve a young girl.

The girl got up reluctantly and trudged behind the Australian woman. I waited for their footsteps to disappear outside again, when they did I got up, ignoring the pain that coursed through me as I did.

I had no idea what my surroundings looked like, but after hearing Shazza and Jack walk out of here I knew what path to take to get out of this room safely. Three steps to the door opening, I recalled and took those steps carefully. I'd have to hear someone walk somewhere once, then I'd know how I had to get there. I leaned against the door opening when I reached it and closing my eyes so I could focus.

I heard several voices coming from outside, plus two more coming from inside the wreckage somewhere. That wasn't what I was looking for though, so I concentrated harder. That's when I noticed it, the calm beating of his heart. It was located somewhere on the other side of, what was left of, the ship. It wasn't that far from where I was now, I'd just have to make sure that I wouldn't bump into anything while trying to get there.

I kept my eyes closed and my focus intact, following the sound of the heartbeat and at the same time keeping an ear out for any other people coming my way. The sound the metal of the ship made as I stepped on it could guide me through the rooms without tripping over anything, being a lower sound if there was something heavy lying on it and higher when it was clear. It was quite a complex way of walking, but I didn't have much of a choice. Normally there would be people walking in front of me, which I could follow to make sure I wouldn't trip or walk into something. Now I had to do it on my own, which I could, it was just more complicated.

It took me a few minutes to arrive at the doorway that would lead to the convict and it was getting close to impossible to calm my heart down. After a while it wasn't beating for two anymore though, which was as far as it would get. I took a deep breath and entered the low lit room. My vision was a darker grey now, showing the outline of someone sitting in front of a pipe.

I heard the rattling of chains and knew he was cuffed, which made me want to growl. Who the hell had handcuffed him? Who dared to even-

I shook my head, getting the thoughts of my animal side out. Who dared to even touch him? Why did I care, I didn't know him! Truth was however that I did care. I took a few steps forward and turned to be able to look at him a bit more. It still wasn't dark enough for me to see him perfectly, or even to see him blurry, but I could see that he was big.

He had raised his head when I entered, and I knew that he should be looking straight at me right now, but I didn't feel his eyes on me. I guessed he was blindfolded, remembering Jack saying something about that. He didn't need to see to know who I was though, like I didn't need to see to know who he was.

We stood like that for a second, both smelling the air surrounding us, a mix of his smell with mine. I reached up slowly, not really thinking about what I was doing, and was about to cup his cheek for reasons _I _didn't even fully comprehend, when he let out a soft and annoyed growl, though it sounded more like a grumble because he had something in his mouth. I immediately took a step back, hearing the merc coming our way and wanted to mirror the growl Riddick had let out. This had been an important moment, even though I didn't know exactly why, and Johns didn't fucking belong here.

I heard him get closer and freeze the moment he spotted me. "What are you doing in here?" He asked suspiciously. "The guy is dangerous, you know. You should be careful."

"Why? He's cuffed isn't he?" I dared. "And blindfolded." I added.

The merc didn't correct me and so I knew I was right about him being blindfolded. I stopped myself from letting a growl escape at the thought of Riddick blindfolded, not really getting why I had the urge in the first place.

The merc didn't seem to notice my held back growl however, chuckling darkly at what I'd said. "That doesn't mean a thing." He said.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he was cuffed if it didn't make a difference. And the bit in his mouth that had deformed his growl before, was it just to hurt him? What sick mind would do that?

Easy, a merc's mind.

"You really shouldn't be in here." He said again, "This man wouldn't think twice about attacking you, killing you even."

"He would." I snapped, cursing myself a second later for not being more control of my temper. This merc just really knew how to push my buttons, and he was pissing me off right now.

I heard him grit his teeth at my words, probably not very happy with being challenged.

"Well if you say so, you're probably right, huh?" He asked menacingly, walking up to me and Riddick. "But there can't be two good guys in one room, can there?" He asked, standing in front of me. I narrowed my eyes, not sure what he was planning, and when I saw it was already too late.

His fist came into contact with Riddick's jaw, making his head snap back. He didn't make a sound, but there was no way that it hadn't hurt. I cringed as I saw the merc hit Riddick in the stomach next.

"Stop it!" I shouted. "You can't just hurt him like that!"

Truth was that I wanted to launch myself at the guy and snap his neck, killing him in the process, but I couldn't. It would be best if this guy didn't know that I was able to kill as easily as Riddick could if I had to, that would only get me into trouble, and Riddick.

He stopped, turning back and I felt him scanning me with his eyes. "What do you care?" He challenged. "He's a convicted murderer. He does this to his victims all the time."

I shook my head, acting like I couldn't quite comprehend that. _Not like you, _I thought, but didn't say it out loud. I knew for sure that Riddick wasn't anywhere near as coldhearted as this merc was, even if he seemed that way. I rubbed my eyes, as if I was trying to stop myself from crying and walked straight towards the door. As long as he thought I was a strong mouthed but weak woman, I'd be fine.

"Get out," I whispered before I left the room. It was too soft for the merc to hear but I knew that the convict would. "Get the hell out and kill that arrogant bastard, or I will." I added with a hiss.

I heard another rumble coming from Riddick, a chuckle he couldn't make clear because of his bit. I hadn't been joking though, at the end of this all I might actually kill that guy myself. I'd surely take pleasure in it.

I heard the merc's footsteps following me, even _that _annoyed me about him, as I made my way outside. The moment I stepped into the light I squeezed my eyes shut, _damn that hurt. _

I guessed that the sun was fully visible in the sky, making the amount of light outside far above what I could see at. My eyesight was now completely white and it made my headache, which had faded slightly, return in full force.

"Xia!" I heard Jack shout as she spotted me, her light footsteps coming my way. "How are you feeling?" She asked happily. I smiled at the girl, hearing Johns pass us by and making his way someplace else.

"I'm good." I said, which was true. After what happened just now I had completely forgotten about my wound, too preoccupied by other things. It was as if it had disappeared. "What's going on?" I asked her, looking around and acting like I saw everyone moving about and just wanted to know what was happening. I _heard _them moving around, it was just different than actually knowing what they were doing. I was hoping Jack could help me with that.

"Imam and the other kids are praying," she said, sounding a bit weirded out by that fact. "For water I think."

"There's no water?" I asked as I crouched down, feeling the ground with my hand. There were rocks and sand, which wasn't the best place for water. I felt the planet's life, the creatures moving beneath me. I also heard the flow of water, just not above ground.

"No," Jack answered. "Paris has booze with him though, if you want any."

I shook my head, "I'm fine." I said. It wasn't entirely true, my mouth had been dry ever since I'd woken up. The taste of alcohol however was sickening. I preferred water, or juices from fruits, anything but alcohol.

Suddenly I remembered something. "Paris' luggage was intact?" I asked, I didn't have to ask though. If it hadn't been intact how would you explain that his drinks had survived?

"Yup," Jack said happily.

"And the luggage in the cry tubes, the ones we took with us on board?"

She thought about that for a second. "I don't know for sure," She said at first. "But I can take you there?"

I smiled at her offer and nodded, "Please."

It wasn't hard to follow her around the ship, her voice carrying far as she was telling me proudly how she had scouted the whole ship already on her own. I made sure to follow her precise footsteps though, remembering how to walk while I smiled at her story.

I wasn't normally that good with people. I thought they were selfish, stupid and clueless. I found that to be true for the others I had met until now, not counting Riddick, except Jack. She had something about her I could admire, she was proud and smart. Her defiance was as interesting as the fact she was acting like she was a boy, and I couldn't help but wonder about her.

"Here we are." She said as she suddenly stopped at the entrance of a room. It was where we had been before, with the Cryo-tubes, the passenger compartment. I could smell every single scent in the room, including the smell of blood and death.

"Stay here." I told the girl, not wanting her to find whatever dead bodies lay here. She might have scouted the ship on her own, but that didn't mean she did a full search on every room and I didn't want to risk her seeing something she would have nightmares of for the rest of her life.

I breathed through my nose once, and subsequently through my mouth. I was able to distinguish my own smell from the others and took a step in the direction of where it came from, hoping it would eventually lead to an intact Cryo-tube

I took another step when suddenly Jack jerked me backwards, "Watch out!" She called out as she did. I froze, letting her pull me back and frowning, what had I missed?

"Didn't you see-" She started, probably pointing at the thing I hadn't seen.

I narrowed my eyes, thinking of what to say now. I could think of an excuse, no problem, but that wouldn't get me my bag and I would really like to be able to drink something at last. Plus the kid seemed like someone I could trust, right?

"Jack, listen to me ok." I said softly but sternly. "If I tell you, no one can know, understand?"

I heard her shuffle from one foot to another, in expectance of what I was going to say. She was excited, I could hear as much from her heartbeat and breathing, and I sighed.

"I'm blind."

It was blunt, easy to understand, no questions to ask. It wasn't completely true, but for now this was the most important part.

I heard Jack suck in air in shock, "You're-" she practically shouted and I cringed. She was able to stop herself in time though, instead whispering the last word. "Blind?"

I nodded, "Yup, so no I didn't see-" I gestured at where she'd about stopped me. "Whatever is there."

"But how do you know where to look? Or who is in the room with you?" She asked me confused.

I smiled slightly, "I'm pretty good at surviving without sight, Jack. Mostly I don't have problems with walking either, this was a one time thing." I hoped it was anyway. It was the fact I wanted my bag and the fact the wreckage gave me too many obstacles I had to avoid. Plus being dehydrated didn't really help either.

"That is so cool." She then said with, what I guessed was, a wide grin on her face.

I laughed, not having expected that and cocked my head to the side. "So, could you help me get to my Cry-tube unscathed?"

I heard her nod furiously, "Sure!" She answered quickly. "What tube is yours?"

"That one," I said, pointing at the thing that had my scent all over it. I could almost hear the gears in her head turn as she asked the most obvious question.

"How do you know?"

I grinned, "I have other senses." I said to the kid, tapping the side of my nose.

I didn't have to be able to see to know that she was looking up at me in admiration right now. It took her second to get back to reality, taking my hand and guiding me past several other fallen over Cryo-tubes. I hoped she wouldn't be looking around too much, in case there really was a dead body lying around somewhere, but I knew that that was the only thing I could do, hope. If I told her not to look around, well you know what happens when you tell someone with vertigo not to look down when you're crossing a bridge.

I didn't really need her to hold my hand, but she didn't seem to realize that I had followed her here without it so I kept my mouth shut. "We're here." She said as I sensed my scent getting stronger.

"Thanks," I told her as I kneeled down and reached for the compartment where I'd put my bag in. I scratched my arm on the side of the tube, but ignored it as I felt the leather of my small backpack, the keychain jingling familiarly as I pulled it out. It wasn't so much that I liked key chains, but it was easy to recognize my bag if for some reason my sense of smell didn't work anymore. I'd had that once and it wasn't easy to find your bag back if you couldn't smell it.

Suddenly I heard something move on my left. I froze, spinning around and straining to hear whatever it was.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, sounding uncertain. I narrowed my eyes, not being able to pick up the noise anymore. "Nothing." I said and got up, rummaging through my bag and grabbing the bottle of water I'd taken with me. I took a swig and swallowed the fresh and cool liquid, delicious. I held it out for Jack to take and she eagerly took a swig as well. "Thanks." She said as she handed it back, I smiled.

"Thank yourself, you helped me find it."

"Of course." She said proudly. "And I promise that all this will be our little secret."

I nodded with a smile, "Thanks kid. Now let's go back outside before they start missing us."


	6. Escape

**_Author's note: Hey readers, chapter 5 for you! I know it's not really exciting... sorry for that, but next chapter is better :) (At least I think it is) _**

**_I hope you enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think about it! And if you have questions, comments, ideas, criticism, or you just like it, you can Always PM and review!_**

_Chapter 5: Escape_

Jack was a good kid, she really was. She helped me by giving me instructions on how to walk, and what to watch out for, what was to see around me, etc. I felt her eyes on me almost all the time, just to make sure nothing would happen to me, and it was quite sweet. The fact that it wasn't exactly necessary didn't really matter. If she would feel useful helping me out like this, let her at it.

At the moment I was standing behind her, in front of a table where Shazza and Zeke were busy with oxygen cans that would help them with breathing. They'd handed Jack one and were holding one out for me now as suddenly Johns came running out of the ship, using curse words I didn't even knew existed, before jogging towards sunset.

I couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping my lips as I realized why he was cursing; the only thing that could probably get him cursing like this being Riddick escaping. I declined Shazza's outstretched hand holding the oxygen, telling her I was used to the air. It wasn't so much a lie, I _was_ used to it by now, but sometimes the truth just had to be twisted. Not that it mattered anyway, Shazza didn't even seem to be listening to me anymore. Her attention was directed at Johns, who was returning with broken cuffs in his hand, still muttering curses.

The two free settlers and Jack hadn't noticed my chuckle before and were frowning at him. "What's going on?" Jack asked when he was in earshot.

Johns didn't answer, instead I felt his eyes burning into me, as if I had something to do with the man's escape. I couldn't have had though, been here all the time, and he knew it. It probably was the only reason he wasn't openly accusing me.

"That dangerous convict that had been travelling with us." Paris started, his voice shaking slightly. "He didn't escape, did he?"

Johns gritted his teeth and I imagined him narrowing his eyes at Paris, the silence being enough of an answer. "Oh God, he did." Paris said, sounding scared as hell.

"Doesn't surprise me," I muttered so only Jack could hear. I felt her curious look on me and smiled down at her mysteriously.

Johns was cursing again, probably thinking about how the hell he was going to get Riddick back, which he wouldn't be able to if Riddick himself didn't want it. I smirked at the thought of Johns going after him, maybe getting injured in the process.

The smirk soon vanished though, as I realized that Riddick was gone. Don't get me wrong, I was happy he had escaped, but the only thing remaining now was emptiness. I probably wouldn't be able to talk to him anymore now, which shouldn't bother me as much as it did considering I had only talked to him once before, not even for that long. There was something inside of me though, etched into the side of my heart the first time I'd smelled him. A longing that I couldn't explain even if I wanted to.

"Jack, really, I can take care of myself." I told the kid as she tried to warn me again for something on my path. "I was just close to dehydration before, which made me less careful. I'm fine now."

What I said was probably true, the water from my bag had certainly helped clear my mind. It had also helped Jack, making her more energetic after having had another taste. She was practically driving the others crazy, so I didn't object of her being so close to me all the time, I just needed some silence right now, instead of her telling me where to walk.

She shifted her weight a little but stayed at my side anyway, making me shake my head lightly with a smile on my lips as Paris came walking in with his inventory of 'weapons', or, if you ask me, just old and primal hunting gear.

"What the hell?" Fry muttered as she inspected the weapons Paris put out on the table. "What is all this?"

"They're very rare," Paris said, sounding proud of his possessions. He picked one up. "This is a Maratha war pick from Northern India."

"And this?" The male free settler, Zeke, asked as he held something up. "That's a hunting blow dart pipe from Northern Papua New Guinea," Paris answered, sounding rather worried about the fact that Zeke was holding it. "That's very, very rare." He continued, trying to make Zeke put it down I guessed. "The tribe's extinct, you see."

"Doesn't surprise me," Zeke muttered, too low for anyone else to hear. I had to admit that a hunting blow dart pipe' didn't sound all that dangerous, especially not against a convict like Riddick. I heard him throwing the thing back down on the table and could almost hear Paris cringe.

"We won't be able to get that guy with this.." She hesitated before continuing. "Stuff." She finally settled for. "It's useless.".

"Well what's the point of all this anyway?" Paris asked, "I mean if the man's gone, then he's gone. Why should he bother us?"

I heard Johns' dark chuckle as he put a gun away for later use. "Maybe to take what we got," he started, startling Paris slightly at the sudden sound of his voice. "Maybe to work our nerves," he continued as he turned around. "Or maybe he'll come back just to skull fuck us in our sleep,"

"Sounds like a charmer." Shazza muttered and I scoffed.

"What?" I asked, skeptical. "You all really believe that?"

No one seemed to dare to contradict the 'cop' and I rolled my eyes. "You might be able to scare them, but you don't scare me." I told the merc. "Because I think, the only person he really would have a reason to actually want dead," I continued with a wicked smile and narrowed eyes. "Is you."

He didn't reply, but I knew that he was scared by the sudden smell of sweat coming from him, and his heart rate, which had speeded up. He _should_ be scared, because he knew I was right. He didn't answer, instead walked over to the table and started inspecting the weapons.

I shook my head, "Seriously, this is a waste of time." I said and turned around to get out of the room.

"What are you gonna do?" Johns asked me, trying to sound superior as he walked up to me in an attempt to intimidate me.

I turned back, "Don't know," I said. "but everything's better than listening to a merc." I hissed the last part, only for him to hear, and I heard his heart skip a beat in surprise, making me smirk. I might not have the upper hand by knowing his secret anymore, but his reaction was worth it.

I stood outside, alone, and closed my eyes. I heard their voices floating towards me with the wind, coming from inside. They were still discussing something and I sighed, how long were they going to be in there for? As if my question had been heard a sudden sound of footsteps came my way. I turned around, wondering who it was and quickly smelling the free settler.

"You think Johns is exaggerating about Riddick, don't you?" Shazza asked me when she was closer. She sounded unsure herself and I laughed dryly.

"He's stranded here as much as we are," I told her. "He has no benefit from killing us."

She sighed, "I hope you're right." She was able to say before the rest started coming out in single file, Jack breaking formation and walking towards me and Shazza.

"So what's the plan?" I asked no one in particular.

Johns was the one to answer, seemingly having recovered from his earlier surprise. "We're going to look for water, maybe we'll find Riddick hiding somewhere."

I had to stop myself from laughing at the ridiculous idea of them 'coincidentally' finding Riddick while looking for water. That was like finding the needle in a haystack at your first try, impossible.

"We should leave soon," Fry said. "Before nightfall, while it's cooler."

"You're going with them?" I asked, frowning. She looked up at me and I felt her surprised eyes on me.

"We need water," she explained.

I nodded, "Yeah, but we need a captain more if we wanna get off this planet."

This made everyone turn quiet. "You wanna go then?" She asked finally.

"I can go!" Jack's voice sounded before I could answer. I shook my head and was pretty sure the rest was doing the same. "Come on! I'm old enough!" She whined.

Before anyone could answer Paris interrupted. "Uhh, guys." He started. He didn't continue and I guessed he was gesturing at something. I didn't know what was going on but I could hear the gasps from everyone, indicating it wasn't particularly good.

"Three suns?" Jack asked for my benefit, I smiled at the kid's efforts and was glad he hadn't listened to me when I'd said I'd be fine on my own earlier. I knew there had been something wrong with this place. It wasn't just the fact that my eyes had hurt the moment I got outside, which normally doesn't really happen, it was just a feeling I'd had ever since we'd crash landed.

"Bloody hell," Shazza muttered at the sight.

"So much for your nightfall," I pointed out to Fry.

"So much for my cocktail hour," Paris said, sounding more disappointed than he really should be.

Imam however wasn't as pessimistic. He clapped his hands together in a warm gesture, "We take this as a good sign," he said with full sincerity, "A path,direction from Allah. Blue sun, blue water."

It was admiring how he could believe that, have so much faith in God. I wasn't as sure though. It wasn't what I would call a 'good' sign at all, it only meant we'd be dehydrated a lot sooner. Suddenly I remembered the creatures that lived underground. Pitying them for having to live in a world which would kill them the moment they went outside. It was different from my kind, who had been able to get out if they wanted to. These animals were trapped underground, forever.

"It's a bit of a bad sign really," Johns suddenly said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "That's Riddick's direction."

At the sound of his name I focused my attention on what the merc had to say. I heard a confused sound coming from Fry, "I thought you found his restraints over there, towards sunset." She said.

"Right, which meant he went towards sunrise," Johns replied in a matter of fact way.

I didn't like the fact he knew that, it showed that he had a broader knowledge on how to track Riddick than I had initially thought. I knew that the rest was now baffled by what he had said, me not so much. I'd known the direction in which he had gone, his smell still lingering in my nose now. That wasn't the only thing alerting me though, there was a certain pull I felt towards where he went, and I had had to fight my animal side which told me to go after him ever since I got outside.

I heard Johns take one of his pistols and check it for ammunition. "Fully loaded clip," He said. "Safety's on. One shot, if you spot him, ok?" He told the person he handed the gun to, which was Zeke if I smelled correctly.

"Don't tell me you're going after him." The free settler said, sounding like he thought Johns was stupid. Actually I was thinking the same. He couldn't possibly think he'd get to Riddick without getting killed right? I mean, I didn't know the guy long, but he hadn't struck me as someone who would let himself get caught without putting up a _heavy _fight.

"Yeah," The merc answered. "Someone's gotta do it."

"And what happens if Mr. Riddick spots us first?" Paris asked, sounding rather frightened, which wasn't anything new.

Johns actually laughed at this question, "There'll be no shots." he said calmly with, what I guessed was, a wicked grin.

_How very reassuring_, I thought sarcastically.


	7. Boneyard Glory

_**Author's note: HeyHey,**_

_**Thanks so much for the reviews LadyShadow01, Yvain-Hayes, Rosmund Chadwick and mz. bee23! I really appreciate them, plus I am happy you like the story :) So I personally love this chapter (though maybe I'm not allowed to say that) and I am curious as to what you readers think! So please tell me by reviewing! **_

_**Hope you enjoy it!**_

_Chapter 6: Boneyard Glory_

"You comfy up there?" I heard Zeke ask Paris, who was sitting on top of what was left of the ship, just having lit a cigar. I had heard him set up some kind of umbrella to protect him from the sun. He had also poured himself a drink. I had to admit that _that _couldn't exactly be called 'being on the lookout.' Zeke had been muttering several things about laziness and other bad qualities while working, I'd tried not to take too much notice of it.

"Yes, it's amazing how you can do without the necessities of life, provided you have the little luxuries."

I rolled my eyes at those words, though I had to admit that I wish I had some kind of umbrella to protect me from the sun. It had been beating down on me ever since I'd gotten outside, and a headache had started up again at the over exposure of light to my eyes.

"Just keep your bloody eyes open." Zeke answered, sounding annoyed by Paris' attitude. "I don't want that dog sneaking up on my bloody arse."

I pressed my lips together in a straight line to keep from growling. For some reason the fact Zeke had called Riddick a 'dog' wasn't something I was particularly happy about. I heard him turn around and leave for the graves he was digging, to bury the crew members that had died. He was doing something good really, though he didn't sound all too happy about the job.

I sighed and got up, walking over to my bag and rummaging through it. I noticed that my bottle of water was only half full, which meant I had to be careful with that. I might need it later if no one found any water. I continued the search through my bag and when I finally found what I was looking for, some herbs I'd picked up from a market place a few weeks before, I put them in my mouth and started chewing. It tasted like peppermint, a lot better than those artificial pain killers they had nowadays, and it worked a lot better too.

I already felt my headache starting to fade as I put my bag away again, hearing Jack scaring the hell out of Paris, which made me chuckle lightly. I looked around, a habit I never had been able to suppress, though that was only good considering I was still acting like I could see, and stopped the turning of my head at the direction Riddick had gone in. The urge to follow his scent was growing stronger by the second, it was as if something primal inside of me wanted to just start running and not stop until I found him.

I heard Shazza calling Jack down and Paris mutter some curse words under his breath. That's when I decided that I didn't have to stay here. Shazza would take care of Jack, and even though Paris wasn't the person with the best attitude, he wouldn't just miss something coming their way, at least I hoped he wasn't that stupid.

I smiled at my new intention and called out for Shazza, telling her I was going after the others to see if they might've found some water already. Normally I would've taken a knife, and I could've because there was one hidden in my bag, but I didn't think it would be necessary right now. The only person really deemed dangerous around here was Riddick, and somehow I knew that he wouldn't hurt me.

I started following his scent, like I'd wanted to, and was glad that I finally had a purpose. I had gone in the general direction the others had, though I listened more to my animal side and went where it told me to go. I didn't know exactly what I was expecting to find, but I didn't care. With every step I took I felt like I was getting closer to Riddick, I knew it sounded stupid but it was true. The pulling inside of me became stronger as I walked further, climbing up a hill. The sand and pebbles crumbled under my feet and I liked the sound, it was comforting.

When I finally reached the top, the ground having leveled out, I noticed a change in the air. I wasn't in front of an open desert anymore, this felt more like a valley.

I stopped and listened carefully for any sign of life. There wasn't any. The only thing I heard was the steady beating of one heart, mine. I breathed through my nose and recognized his scent instantly; he'd been here for sure. I wondered where the others had gone, if they'd also passed this way or rather turned into another direction. I didn't smell them, but then again, Riddick's scent kind of wiped every other away.

I sighed, starting my careful descent down the hill. I put foot in front of foot until I was at the bottom, letting my instincts tell me where I could and couldn't walk.

My breaths were low and even, heart rate calm, as my ears reached out to hear something. The sounds from the underground world were now nothing more than a background noise, something that belonged there. I was able to listen around it and hear other things, like the beating of a second heart a few feet away. I sniffed the air and recognized the smell, Riddick.

I lifted my foot to take another step absentmindedly, listening for any movements coming from him. Before I could set my foot down however, I heard it, my arm being grabbed and me being pulled sideways, landing against a hard body.

"Careful there," He whispered, sounding slightly amused by something but gentle nonetheless. "Don't want you to get hurt."

I lifted my head, hearing from where his voice came from that he was a head taller than me. I wasn't intimidated though; even while standing against him and feeling his muscles. My animal side told me to snuggle into him and just stand there, enjoying his presence. That wasn't what I did however.

Riddick's POV

I felt her back away from me and reluctantly let go of her arm. I wish she wouldn't have moved, but I guess that might be too much to ask of someone who only knew me for a few hours. Even for someone who knew me a lot longer.

"Why did you-?" She gestured towards the spot she'd been standing before and I smiled, amused.

"You were about to walk into a very large skeleton." I told her, looking at where she'd stood before. It wasn't entirely true what I'd said, she had been at least several feet away from the thing, but that didn't really matter right now.

I looked back at her and saw her frown, pushing her hair back and sending a wave of wildflower my way. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose. There was something tainting her smell, something artificial I couldn't quite place, but she still smelled delicious. So delicious even that I had to refrain from jumping her right here, right now.

I opened my eyes and watched her move forward a bit, her arm outstretched towards the skeleton. When she found the rib of one of the creatures a wondrous smile crossed her lips. She traced the rib further into the boneyard, fascinated by the creature.

She had a certain ease about her, walking around like she was perfectly capable of seeing everything. She wasn't though; I'd heard her when she told the kid about her eyesight. I had to admit however that if I hadn't had, her calm ways and ability to avoid obstacles would have fooled me.

I followed her, as we started moving towards the area that was shaded by the huge bones. I'd been hiding out here, there was enough cover and there was shadow, which beat those damn suns every day. It was pretty close to the ship, too close really, and normally I wouldn't have even thought about hiding out here, but somehow whenever I tried to get farther away I'd be reminded of this fascinating creature that was right in front of me now.

The way she stood there, her charcoal black hair slightly disheveled and her clothes dirty, it was an amazing sight. She reached up to touch a larger piece of bone and that's when I saw it.

It was just a glimpse, but enough to make a growl escape my lips. I was at her side in mere seconds, obviously startling her, and lifted her shirt over her stomach. The skin surrounding the wound I'd pulled the glass from was red and there were staples in it, serving as stitches. I narrowed my eyes as I inspected them, knowing that this had been what had tainted her smell before. It smelled of alcohol and metal, which wasn't an all too pleasant combination.

"It's fine." I heard her say softly. "It'll heal. I've had worse."

I knew she was trying to comfort me, but the thought of her having 'had worse' made me growl again. The thought of people getting to her, of _mercs_ getting to her, and hurting her was too much. I wasn't in control of the growl that had escaped, like I wasn't in control of my next actions either.

I pushed her backwards a little, so her back was up against the bones of the dead creature, and held both her wrists several inches away from her head, against the ribs she'd previously been tracing. I heard her surprised yelp but didn't stop; instead I lowered my nose and buried it in her neck, breathing in her bewitching aroma.

I felt the hatred, which had started to build towards those who had hurt her in the past, and the anger fade almost immediately. I wasn't sure what had brought me to do this, to suddenly just bury my face in her neck, but it was as if I had known this was going to happen. Maybe I had, or at least my animal side had. One thing was for sure, I had never calmed down this quick before.

I didn't move back; actually I was quite comfortable the way I was standing right now. I felt her shiver underneath me as I exhaled against her skin, making me chuckle lightly.

"It's been a long time since I smelled beautiful," I whispered as I nuzzled her neck further. "But I've _never_ smelled anything like you before."

It was true, never in my life had I smelt something as delicious as this woman. I moved my head an inch or so to the right and pulled the strap of her tank top aside with my teeth, so the fabric wouldn't be in the way of my journey. I used my nose to trace down from her neck to her collarbone, letting my breaths caress her skin. She shivered again and a low moan escaped her lips. I might've chuckled, if I hadn't been so busy with how smooth her skin felt against my nose and how enchanting she really was.

I got the sudden urge, as I reached the patch of soft skin that connected her neck to her shoulder, to bite down. To sink my teeth into her and claim her as mine. I knew that no one would ever dare to touch her again if I did, their instincts screaming at them to leave the woman alone. She would be mine forever.

Before I got the chance however, the sudden sound of footsteps made us both freeze.

Xia's POV

God, I might've actually lost it there if we hadn't been interrupted. It had felt so good that I had even let out a moan, and the only thing he'd been doing was trace my skin with his nose! I would've thought myself stupid if it hadn't felt so damn good. I couldn't say I was happy with the interruption though, on the contrary. The sudden sound of the footsteps had made me want to growl and chase whoever it was away. Riddick was faster in reacting than me, clamping a hand over my mouth, as if he knew what I had wanted to do, and pulling me away from where we were standing.

My vision went from light to dark grey, which meant he'd pulled me into darker shadows. I was with my back against his chest and his hand was still over my mouth. I bit his finger softly, indicating for him to let go, and when he did turned around so I was facing him. I was about to send him a glare, however the moment I saw him my breath hitched and I could only stare, forgetting all about the sounds.

He was just inches away from me, I could feel his body heat and it made me shiver. The darkness provided me with a vague idea of how he looked, like it had on the ship. I didn't think, instead it was as if my hand moved on its own, reaching up and touching his shoulder lightly, tracing up and down his arm in fascination.

I heard him grind his teeth to prevent any sound from escaping his lips, and I instantly stopped what I was doing, remembering the noises from before and knowing we had to stay quiet to avoid detection.

I felt him put his arms around my waist, pulling me in closer so that I was pressed against him. This time_ I_ could nuzzle _his_ neck, and I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes and enjoying his scent.

He smelled of so much more than my first try had given me. I smelt animals and plants he'd come into contact with before getting onto the ship, I smelt the wild, his survival instincts, his animal side. It was the most attractive smell I'd ever encountered. I wrapped my arms around his neck automatically and pulled myself closer, basking in his scent. I wanted to reach out with my tongue and lick his neck, just to get a taste of him. Suddenly however voices penetrated the blissful haze I was in. Voices coming from right beside us.

"Drink?" Johns asked Fry, holding out something that sounded like a bottle of liquid, alcohol probably. She hesitated a moment but took it anyway.

"Probably shouldn't do this, it dehydrates you even more." She said as she took a gulp.

"You're probably right." He replied. "You know, you could've stayed back at the ship. Probably should've. If we don't find water, you know what happens."

"I wanted to get away."

It didn't surprise me; I'd noticed her unease around the ship and the other passengers. I'd just thought it was the fact she believed she had let the ship crash, which every crew member would think really. But maybe there was more to the story than I thought there was.

"I've never seen a captain so ready to leave her ship." Johns said. For once I was glad he was here, at least my question would be answered. On the other hand, what was more important to me? The question, or the man I was pressed up against right now. Maybe the damn guy should've stayed away.

"I think we should keep moving." Fry tried, doing her best to get out of the interrogation.

"What did Owens mean, about not touching the handle?"

Ok, now they'd lost me. What had Owens said? I listened for the answer, wondering if I could maybe understand what they were talking about. It took some time before Fry answered though, the shame she felt evident in her silence.

"It's just between you and me, Carolyn. I promise."

"I'm not your captain." She then said, which wasn't anything new. The captain had died in the crash, we knew that, right?

"During everything that happened, when things were at their worst, Owens was at his best. He stopped the docking pilot from dumping the main cabin. The passengers."

She had lowered her voice at the last two sentences and I'd frozen at her words.

"And the docking pilot being?"

I strained to hear her answer but her silence indicated she wasn't going to say another thing. She didn't have to though, we all knew. What the answer meant though was something completely different. She had wanted to kill us, indirectly anyway. And even though I hadn't known Riddick at the time, the thought of him having died, even along with me, just didn't sit right with me.

"I guess I'm a little more glad to be here than I thought." Johns said, not judging her, which was something that I have to admit I admired.

They didn't stay long after that and when they finally were out of my hearing range I backed away from Riddick and looked up at him, ready to question him about Fry. When I saw his eyes however, I forgot all about it and gasped instead. They were white.

"Your eyes.." I whispered, feeling my heart beat twice as fast in my chest as I reached up to touch his face, cupping his cheek. He turned his head a little so he could sniff my wrist and I shuddered in delight.

He looked right at me, "Thought you couldn't see." He said, his warm breath against my wrist. He sounded fascinated with me and somehow that made my heart swell.

I stared at him for a second, surprised by his words, when suddenly I remembered the sound I'd heard earlier, while looking for my bag with Jack.

"You were there." I breathed.

He chuckled softly, "I was," he answered, not sounding like he regretted spying on me at all. "I couldn't just leave without making sure you were alright." He whispered. "If the kid hadn't been there though.." he didn't finish his sentence but it was as if he whispered the words in my head.

I felt a growl building and leaving my lips before I could stop it, making him chuckle once again.

"So," He said softly, his hand reaching up and pushing my hair out of my face. "Can you see me now?"

I cocked my head to the side and furrowed my eyebrows in frustration. "Not very well," I complained.

"Why's that?" He asked. I could hear the smile in his voice as he started tracing his nose along my wrist.

"Too much light," I almost stammered, as I really wanted to moan at the feeling. "But you're eyes-"

I said as I tried to recover a little.

"They reflect light." He explained as if it was the most normal thing in the world. It wasn't though, it was special, extraordinary, I loved it. It was as if I could see straight into his soul, even when it wasn't completely dark. There was something that still puzzled me though.

"But why didn't I see them before?" I asked.

"I wear glasses to protect them against bright lights." He told me, holding out something. I let go of his cheek and took it, examining it with my hands. It felt quite light and it had two goggles, something to stop the light from entering, and reflecting. I smiled, holding the things in my hand and looking up into his eyes again.

Suddenly there was the sound of a gunshot, coming from the crash site.

"What the-" I exclaimed as I spun around. I tried to hear something else, something that might indicate what had happened, but didn't. I shivered; the hairs on my arms raising as suddenly the body behind me had disappeared. Riddick was gone.

"Hey!" Johns voice came out of nowhere. "What are you doing here? I thought you were staying at the ship?"

So that was the reason he'd suddenly disappeared. I quickly hid the goggles, which I was still holding, behind my back and smiled. "I was looking for you," I said, walking to him and acting like I had been lost in a maze. "What the hell were these creatures?"

He looked me over skeptically but then shrugged, "Don't know. Come on, we have to get back. We found a settlement not far from here and we gotta-"

He was interrupted by several more gunshots, though this time they were clear and not that far away. I heard something else, someone screaming and the angry screeches from the creatures underground. As I saw Johns speed off towards the sounds I already knew what was going on. It wasn't exactly something pleasant and so I reluctantly followed Johns, putting Riddick's goggles away in the pocket of my pants.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was Riddick's presence, though I hadn't smelled or heard him yet. My neck hairs would raise and something deep inside me would start to tingle in anticipation. Now however that wasn't entirely the case, as I also heard how Riddick was being kicked in the stomach by someone.

"What did you do to zeke?" Shazza yelled at him hysterically. "What did you do to him?"

Riddick didn't answer, though I doubted he got much of a chance as I heard Shazza kick him again. I wondered why he wasn't doing anything back when I remembered how I still had his goggles, which meant he was without them in the bright light from the three suns. His eyes probably hurt like hell.

"Just kill him! Just somebody goddamn kill him. Before he kills anyone else!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and hurried towards her, pulling her away from Riddick and trying to calm her down while doing so. As her rational side slowly took over I sat her down, asking her what happened while taking place beside her.

I felt her eyes on me and heard her starting to sob, "Zeke. He-" she started, her breath hitching. I put an arm around her in an attempt to be of comfort. It wasn't the primary purpose I was serving though, I was keeping her away from Riddick for now. I wasn't sure if Johns was much better, but a hysterical woman could do things no man would even dare dream of doing, so maybe he was.

"He was digging the graves for the crew members when suddenly I heard gunshots." She eventually got out, through sobs and whimpers. "I ran as fast as I could, I really did, I just couldn't make it. And then," suddenly she started shaking. Not from sorrow, but from anger.

"Then I saw_ him_." She said the last word as menacingly as possible. "He killed Zeke!" She spat. "He just-" she stopped and started sobbing again, the anger dissolving into nothing.

We sat like that for a while, until I heard Fry coming out way. The rest had already returned to the ship, Johns holding Riddick as a prisoner. I'd tried not to pay too much attention to him as I would probably have said something about the way Johns was treating him, which would cause suspicion.

I got up and left Shazza alone for a second, staring out in front of her.

"We need to take her inside for now. She's becoming more dehydrated by the second if she keeps on going like this." I told Fry, she nodded, agreeing with me.


	8. Reason to be jealous?

_**Author's Note: Hey guys, girls, riddick fans! So here you have chapter 7! It differs a little from the movie, or a lot, depends on how you look at it. I still hope you like it though!**_

_**Special thanks to reviewers: Tabkinesis and Rosmund Chadwick! **_

_**Next chapter will have a little more action! Hope you enjoy this one!**_

_Chapter 7:_ _Reason to be jealous?_

After having brought Shazza back inside and putting her in the shade, she slowly started calming down. She had been breathing heavily for some time now so when her breaths finally calmed I let out a relieved sigh, she was asleep.

I pushed myself off the ground quietly, making sure not to wake her. She had just lost someone she cared for, a lot, and I felt sorry for her. There was nothing that would make her feel better now, but at least sleeping would prevent her from feeling any worse.

I turned around and started making my way through the ship, back to where I'd gone the first time to visit Riddick. This time though, as I arrived at the door opening, I heard a voice that didn't belong there.

"-tell me about the sounds?" Fry asked the convict. I could hear the impatience in her voice, indicating she'd been in there longer than a few minutes, and narrowed my eyes slightly as that fact registered. "Look, you told Johns you heard something."

Riddick stayed silent, even breaths and even heartbeat, like always.

"That's fine." Fry said, though it didn't sound like she thought it was fine. "You don't want to talk to me, that's your choice, But just so you know, there's a debate as to whether we should leave you here to die."

She was lying now, probably to get the guy to answer. There hadn't been a debate, not even close. I doubted there would ever be one. No one would want to kill a man with no real proof, even a convict like Riddick, except maybe for Johns. He however would miss out on his money if he killed the man, so his objective would probably be to keep Riddick alive.

I heard Fry's hesitant footsteps coming my way. She was curious as to the convict, I could smell it. Truth was she wanted to stay, even though she knew it was better to leave, and I didn't like that one bit. Actually I hated it so much that there was a low growl starting at the back of my throat, my instincts telling me to chase her away.

"You mean the whispers?"

My heart stopped at the sudden sound of his voice. Carolyn's heart stopped as well. She froze and slowly turned around, interest spiked.

"What whispers?" she asked carefully.

I closed my eyes and tried to control my anger. It was an irrational anger, really, and I couldn't quite explain it. I was annoyed by the fact he was telling her things, but I had no reason to be. She had asked it and normally a question was answered, there was nothing weird about that. I liked it as much as I liked her, which was not at all. After hearing she had almost sacrificed the passengers, including Riddick, it had pissed me off a little to say the least. Now that she was here with _my_ man-

I heard Riddick's low chuckle, pulling me out of my thoughts and making me pay attention to the conversation again instead of letting my mind wander.

"The ones telling me to go for the sweet spot," He then said with an amused tone in his voice.

My eyes shot open as I suddenly realized what he was doing.

"Just to the left of the spine," he continued and I had to smile. I had been jealous of this woman, for reasons I didn't even quite understand, and the guy knew, he just fucking knew.

"Fourth lumbar down, the abdominal aorta."

He had probably heard me coming, standing there, waiting for Fry to leave. The growl from before hadn't exactly escaped my mouth, but he could've heard it if he'd been listening, guess he had been. The only thing he was doing now, was showing me that this woman was no threat, that my jealousy was uncalled for. And it was insane that he even had to show me that really, but still I calmed down instantly at the knowledge.

"It's a metallic taste, human blood. Copperish." He continued, now just trying to scare Fry into leaving. It was working too, she was scared as hell, but I wasn't sure if she would be chased away that easily. "If you cut it with peppermint schnapps, it goes away- "

I could hear her heart beat from miles away, her shallow breaths that indicated fear. She wouldn't show him that though, at least not intentionally. "Do you want to shock me with the truth now?" She snapped, acting annoyed to cover up the fear building up inside of her.

I decided that was the perfect time to interrupt the conversation, pushing myself off the wall and making my way inside the room. I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I entered; my eyesight wasn't that bad in here. It wasn't perfect, still too much light on the outskirts, but I could see a little more than just the outlines of people this time. I wondered what had changed in the room, considering it was the exact same one Riddick had been in before, but didn't dwell on it too long.

"What truth, Carolyn?" I asked her as I noticed her standing right in front of Riddick.

She spun around at the sudden voice having appeared out of nowhere, her heart was working overtime trying to keep up. "The truth of what happened to Zeke of course!" She said incredulously, obviously not sure of what to think of my sudden appearance but trying not to show it.

"You wouldn't believe him if he told you." I countered, looking at Riddick and swearing that I actually could see him smirk slightly. I noticed more, for example that he was bald. I had known this before, to an extent, you can smell that on someone. Seeing it was something else though, more amazing. I could also see that he his arms were chained to two poles that were at his sides. His eyes, directed right at me, were white again, catching the light from the surroundings.

"Why not?" Fry asked, confused.

I pulled my eyes away from Riddick reluctantly and looked at Fry again. "Because it won't be what you want to hear."

"And what is it I want to hear according to you?" She challenged me.

I raised an eyebrow again, "That it was him," I indicated my head towards Riddick. I heard her grind her teeth together in frustration as she looked up at him herself, her heart still filled with fear.

"Well?" She snapped at him, wanting to get out of here but at the same time wanting an answer.

He shrugged, for as far as that was possible with the chains holding him in place, "Did I kill a few people?" He asked. "Sure. Did I kill Zeke? No." He paused a second and I felt his eyes on me. "You got the wrong killer."

There was a moment of silence as his words sank in. She looked up at me, back at him and at me again. "How did you know?" She asked softly, sounding less than certain she even wanted to know the answer. I wondered if she really believed Riddick now that he had told her personally he hadn't done it, I guessed she did but I could be mistaken.

"Well that's simple," I told her. "He had no reason to kill Zeke."

There were other reasons. For example that I'd heard the creatures, the screams. Plus I'd seen the blood. Experienced killers wouldn't leave that much blood behind, animals did.

"Then who-?"

"Not who." I corrected. "What."

I imagined the confused look she must have had on her face now and half-smiled. "You all are so keen on believing we're the only ones here." I said. "There are things here that are a lot more dangerous than that guy over there." I pointed at Riddick and felt his eyes on me.

"What other things?" She asked, swallowing away her fear.

"The things that killed Zeke."

She was about to ask something else when suddenly the sound of footsteps down the stairs made my head snap up, just like Riddick's.

"Wow," Jack exclaimed when he saw the convict. "Where the hell can I get eyes like that?"

I had to stop myself from laughing at the question, exactly the thing that Jack would want to know after listening in to our conversation, which is what he had been doing. I wanted to hear the answer too though, so I focused on Riddick and waited for him to answer.

"You gotta kill a few people." He said, shooting me a glance and I raised an eyebrow skeptically. Done that.

"Ok," Jack said, jumping down the last few steps. "I can do it ."

"Then you gotta get sent to a slam where they tell you you'll never see daylight again." Riddick continued, intriguing Jack even more, and me for that matter. It sounded like a heavenly place to be honest, no daylight. I'd been in one prison before, it was never dark enough to be able to see and so I hated it. I wondered in how many prisons Riddick had been in his life, filing it away for later questioning, when we were alone. I shuddered at the thought of being alone with him again, and I swear I heard his low chuckle before he continued.

"You dig up a doctor and you pay him 20 menthol Kools to do a surgical shine job on your eyeballs."

"So you can see who's sneaking up on you in the dark? " Jack asked excitedly.

"Exactly. " He confirmed.

I chuckled, but Fry wasn't as happy with it as I was. "Leave." She said to the kid harshly, making me want to snap at her to shut up. Jack was a good kid, she didn't deserve to be snapped at like that. Fry instantly realized how she had said it and repeated herself, softer this time.

Jack scoffed and left us behind reluctantly, muttering some curse words I guessed she'd picked up from the other survivors.

"Cute kid. " Riddick commented, earning a glare from Fry I imagined.

"He's not in the hole," she said, sticking with the former subject. "We looked."

"Look deeper." He told her and I heard her grit her teeth as she spun around to me.

"Let's go." She growled, passing by me.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Riddick first, "I'll see you later," he said with that same amused tone as before. "Alone." He added in a slightly husky whisper.

I rolled my eyes at the way he'd said it, but couldn't stop myself from smiling and biting my lip in anticipation. This would surely get interesting.

* * *

"Can't we just _not _do this?" Paris asked, not sounding all too happy about the turn of events. We were all standing around the hole Zeke got murdered in, debating on who would go down and explore.

"I don't see you doing anything." Johns commented, though I could hear by his heartbeat that he wasn't nearly as calm as he made himself appear.

Paris was fidgeted with his fingers and tapped his foot to the ground as if he were getting impatient. He did his best to ignore the merc's comment as he continued.

"The man's dead. Finding out what killed him won't change anything about that fact!"

Shazza shot up to her feet. She'd been sitting at the side of the hole, staring at the blood. I heard her rapid breaths as she was obviously getting mad. I was pretty sure she was about to yell something when I spoke up, making her, and everyone else, freeze.

"What?" Carolyn asked me, not sure if she'd heard me correctly.

"I said," I repeated with a roll of my eyes. "I'll go."

Now I felt everyone's stares burn into me. I had to admit I'd been pretty quiet ever since we arrived. I'd listened to them discussing who would be best to go down the hole, Johns coming with the excuse that he was needed to keep Riddick in check. Truth was he was just scared, but he would never admit to that.

I had been contemplating a few things while listening to them, concluding that now was as good a time as any to explore the underground world by myself, so I volunteered for the job.

"But-" Jack tried to protest, I didn't let her continue.

"Look ok," I started. "Everyone single one of you seems to believe that Riddick had something to do with Zeke's death. You have no reason to go down there and see if there might be another explanation, so I'll do it instead."

"What reason do you have to believe him?" Johns challenged me, sounding more than just suspicious. I faced him, "He said he didn't do it, I believe him."

The merc laughed at that but I just ignored him and his mutters on how insane I was.

"Are you sure?" Fry asked me next. She sounded relieved that she herself didn't have to go, but there was the slight edge of worry that I didn't miss. I smiled at her reassuringly,

"Got nothing to lose, do I?" I asked.

She didn't seem sure on how to answer that and instead sighed, facing Imam to tell him to hook me up to the rope. Imam did as told, making me frown slightly. I wanted to tell them I'd rather go down without the rope, not liking the restrictions a 'safety line' brought with itself. Jack however didn't seem to like the fact I was going at all, and so for her I decided to do the thing everyone would do and go down with the rope.

"Here," Shazza said as she came walking up to me. "A torch in case it's too dark to see." I smiled at her and took it, even though I wouldn't be using it. She was almost acting like her former self again, except for the way she would grind her teeth together whenever Riddick was mentioned. She didn't like the guy much and I guessed it wasn't just because of the accusations of killing Zeke.

I muttered a thank you and took a deep breath before walking over to the grave Zeke had dug. The smell of blood still lingered in the area, but it didn't take away the feeling of excitement that I had at the idea of exploring an unknown world.

"Xia!" Jack suddenly yelled, running up to me. "You can't even see, how are you-" I stopped her with a smile and a shake of my head. She had been considerate enough to keep her voice down as she said it, so no one was really paying any particular attention to us.

"I'm fine in the light, am I not?" I asked her softly.

"Yes, but-" She couldn't finish her protests because she know all too well that if I was blind everything was dark for me. Of course that wasn't completely true in my case, but that didn't matter right now.

"I'll be fine." I told her. " I promise, ok? Maybe when Riddick's cleared you'll be allowed to talk to him." I said with a wink. I heard her heart stutter at the thought of that. She admired the guy, she really did, maybe even a little more than just admire, she was a girl after all.

For some irrational reason that thought made my stomach clench. I was just in time to stop a jealous growl from escaping my lips. The kid wasn't a threat, I told my animal side sternly, though I wasn't sure if it would listen to that logic. It seemed like all logic had abandoned me after meeting the guy.

"Be careful."

Jack's whisper took a few seconds to register in my mind and I quickly nodded. "I will." I told her, turning around and inspecting the hole before crumbling off the sides so that I could enter. I was really curious as to what I would find, maybe it would resemble home. Or maybe it would resemble hell. Who could be sure?


	9. Problems Arise

**_Author's note: _**

**_HeyHey everyone,_**

**_I am sorry that it took so long before updating, and I apologize in advance that it might take a while again for the next chapter, but I am seriously way too busy. School is demanding too much and I have to keep up or I'm dead. But I will not give up on this story, so updates will keep coming, they might just take a bit longer…_**

**_Thank you those who have reviewed: DarknessMakesMeSmile, LadyShadow01, Mrs Sorbo, TabKinesis. My thanks also go out to those who have followed or favorite my story! Hope this chapter is good enough for you all! Please let me know if it's ok, or how to make it better! _**

**_So there is a small difference with the movie here. The underground tunnels cover more ground now. Also, there isn't much light coming from the tubes that appear above ground, actually it's pitch black underground. There are tunnels that lead to those tubes, but other than that there is practically no light. I hope that it's not a hindrance that it's not like in the movie… _**

**_Thankyou for reading and I hope you enjoy! _**

_Chapter 8:Problems arise_

The descent down the hole wasn't scary. Actually it was quite the opposite, I was excited. Soon I'd be on familiar turf again, underground, plus I'd probably be able to see. I had to admit that that had been one of the reasons I'd decided to go down the hole to find Zeke's body. The second reason was to find out what these creatures, which sounds I'd grown accustomed to by now, were like. The main reason was of course to prove Riddick's innocence. I just knew he hadn't done it and, even though I couldn't care less about what the others thought of me, it pissed me off that they would think such a thing of Riddick. I had to admit that if it had been anyone else, convicted killer or not, I would have thought he'd done it as well. Riddick was different however, he wasn't just 'anyone else'.

I straightened the moment the ceiling was high enough, which was a few minutes after having crawled further into the hole. It had gradually grown darker, now it was pitch black. My eyesight was beyond what I'd expected, it was perfect. I noticed every small detail inside and it was breathtaking. There was a whole tunnel system down here, probably reaching all over the planet. The walls were covered with sand and dust, giving it a light brown color. There was something on them, I could smell plant extracts, though I couldn't identify them. I reached out with my hand and dusted the sand off. That's when I felt a wondrous smile reach my lips, there were mural paintings.

Whoever had made this had been a great artist, vibrant colors swirling together and forming figures holding primal hunting gear, like Paris'. I dusted the rest of the wall off as well, hearing insects scatter away from the sudden intrusion of their home. I guessed the paint used had been made out of plant extracts, which would explain the smell.

When the wall was clean I took a step back and inspected it. The figures were fighting something, huge creatures. They looked a little like elephants, only they were bigger. Bigger even than the dinosaurs that once ruled the earth. The red paint the creatures were made from had a stranger smell than the rest of the paint, and as I took a step closer I found that it was blood.

I frowned slightly, as it was obvious that the painting had been painted after the fight. Something told me that the blood belonged to those who didn't survive the fight. I followed the wall, seeing several other paintings appear as well. These were darker, not made by the same artist. Dead forests with bones spread on the ground, the valley I'd been in before where the huge elephants were killed, at least that is what I thought it was, and finally creatures with wide spread wings. They had two thin long stalks on either side of their guillotine-shaped heads. They didn't seem to have any eyes, but if someone knew that without eyes you could be as dangerous as ever, it was me.

I traced the wall with my fingers as I walked on, thinking about what must've happened to the people who made these paintings, to the people who used to live here. I pushed the thought away and instead focused on my surroundings, the answer probably wouldn't be good.

Small spiders scurried away from me as I passed them. I noticed white worms crawling on the ceiling and walls, the white color they had suggesting they were glowing. I was fascinated by the amazing hidden world which reminded me so much of my home planet. The only thing missing was the jungle, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was out there somewhere, close to the water maybe.

Eventually, as I had made my way through the first system, I arrived at a clearing. The ceiling was high above me and there were several tunnels around me, most of them leading to one of those tubes that were visible above ground.

I felt the presence before I saw them, they were camouflaged well against the ceiling. I guessed they were the creatures who had been making the noises, the same as the artist had depicted on the walls before. They were hanging upside down from the ceiling, in clusters. Their wings were pulled up around them, forming a cocoon to sleep in, with their forked tails holding them in place. They looked rather peaceful at the moment, heartbeats calm, but I was pretty sure they wouldn't be as peaceful if I woke them up. I looked around and noticed a blood trail on the ground in front of me. That brought me right back to reality, and to the reason I was here in the first place.

I reached behind me and pulled the rope a little, I wasn't sure how long it was, or how far I could get with it, but I decided to follow the blood trail anyway. Silently I made my way to the tunnel on my right, instantly seeing the shoe next to the wall. Zeke's foot was still in it, having been severed by sharp teeth. I frowned, thinking of what to do now.I could bring it with me as proof that Riddick hadn't been the one to kill Zeke, but that probably wouldn't go down all too well with Shazza. It wasn't that I particularly cared about her feelings, not really, but I had no reason to upset her either. I noticed the blood trail continuing further into the tunnel and followed, coming across several more body parts of Zeke's, mixed with bones and skulls from people who had set foot in here a long time ago. I guess that I now knew what had happened to those who used to live here.

The second clearing I found was as peaceful as the first had been. The same sort of creatures hung down from the ceiling here, though there were smaller ones here too. I guessed that the first clearing had been protection for this one, the breeding space. One of the creatures had its wings spread instead of wrapped around itself. I knew that it had noticed me, as its head followed me as I walked closer. I looked at it and let out a soft hum as I made myself as big as possible. The hum was to show that I wasn't a threat; the gesture was to show that I wasn't intimidated by its size and that I wouldn't be an easy kill. My animal side showed strength for the creature to feel, which prevented him from immediately attacking.

I could see that it was curious, moving its head from side to side. I understood exactly what he was doing; he was using the ultrasonic sensors, the stalks on his head, to see me. That he was moving his head meant that he had a blind spot in the middle of his vision, which could work to my advantage if I ever were to have to fight one of them.

The creature's job was to protect the clusters of infants around him, and the mothers that were joined with each cluster, so it had reason to be curious of an intruder. There was just one reason he hadn't killed me the moment I'd entered and that was my heritage. Animals recognized other animals, they recognized threats. My heritage gave me the upper hand as I was never seen as an immediate threat and often seen as an ally rather than an enemy. It gave me a certain bond with animals I could use to my advantage right now.

I lowered my head and kneeled to the ground, showing it that I really didn't form a threat. It was a sign of submission, and even though I wasn't planning on being submissive it was the only way to get the thing to trust me and to come down. I heard it slowly unclasp its claws from the ceiling, making small pieces of clay and stone drop down to the ground. It then hovered down until it landed right in front of me, its head cocked to the side as it inspected me curiously but cautiously.

The thing reached over me easily, making my animal side scream to me that I wasn't safe. At the same time though it was interested in the animal and right now that was more to the point.

I copied the creature's movements, also cocking my head to the side. Slowly, but surely, it started feeling more assured of the fact that I wasn't anything to be worried about. When it was I dared to lift my hand slowly, reaching out to touch it. It froze at my movement but allowed me to touch its forehead anyway, as it knew that he would be able to strike and kill me instantly if necessary.

The creature felt cold, from never seeing the sun, and wet, which meant the water they drank from wasn't far from this place. Its skin was rough but wasn't thick. The amount of weapons its body harbored didn't need a thick, hard skin that was hard to penetrate.

I left my hand on its forehead for a few seconds, so I wouldn't startle it when moving down to its neck. When I did it didn't take long for me to find what I was looking for, a weak spot. The thing froze again the moment I brushed past it, more than aware of its own vulnerabilities. I passed it without pausing, not wanting to come over as hostile with the animal. The moment I'd felt its heartbeat under my fingers however, I'd known that that was the spot to strike. It would kill him instantly. You'd need something sharp though, like a knife.

_Shit_

I thought, freezing myself. I remember putting my knife back in my bag when I got back with Shazza, convinced I wouldn't be needing it anymore. I however don't remember taking it back out, which meant that now I had nothing to protect myself with, not against these things.

The creature instantly noticed my change in behavior and backed away a little, head moving from side to side to keep track of my movements. I decided that it was no use dwelling on the fact I had no knife now, I'd get out of here safely if I just stayed calm. While convincing myself of that I took a step forward, ready to calm the creature down again.

I'd forgotten all about the rope, as had I forgotten all about the flashlight Shazza had given me before as well. The creature had been fascinating enough to just make me forget about all of that. So when I took a step forward and was suddenly pulled back by said rope I wasn't prepared for it and stumbled. That, in turn, resulted in me losing the flashlight, and causing a catastrophe.

The moment the flashlight hit the ground it turned itself on, momentarily blinding me and making the creature in front of me go completely insane. I felt its tail dig into the skin of my arm and let out a growl, searching for the flashlight and trying to turn it off again. When I couldn't seem to find the switch I decided to smash it instead, which made the light die down permanently. Now however, all the creatures were awake and not all too happy with someone disturbing their rest.

The smaller creatures, the infants, flew right past me screeching loudly. I cringed at the sounds and felt several claws slash my arms, shoulders and legs. The thing I'd touched before was now in attack mode and stood in front of me threateningly, the mothers landing behind it and taking in the same stance.

I forced my heart to beat calmly, and forced my breath to sound collected as I made myself bigger than I seemed. I knew that I couldn't go running, that would result in a chase and I didn't particularly like that idea. The blood now flowing from my wounds would only add to the thrill of chasing me, their prey. Fighting however didn't sound much better either. They were now with at least seven, and I heard the flapping of wings above me as well. Then there was the rope around my middle, restricting me from moving normally let alone fight normally, the fact I'd forgotten my knife and the fact each and every one of these things had razor sharp teeth, claws and long spikes on their wrists. A fight with one of them didn't even have good odds, how the hell was I going to win from seven!?

I spun around and ran as fast as I could the moment I noticed they were on the verge of attacking. I did my best to ignore the noises that echoed through the tunnels as I followed the rope back to where I'd entered. Soon I found that the way back was blocked by several of the winged animals though. I cursed, quickly deciding to turn left instead, into another tunnel. I sprinted, hearing the flapping of wings and mad screeches behind me. I didn't look, knowing that that wouldn't help me in any way, and so noticed the light appearing in front of me quickly. My vision changed back to the dull grayness as I reached the end of that tunnel. I was officially trapped now.

_Fuck._

I heard voices, coming from above ground, and instantly recognized them. I looked up the tube above me, leading to the outside world. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, ignoring the sounds of the creatures gaining on me. Instead I focused on what was directly around me, reaching out with my arms and feeling that the rock walls weren't too far apart from each other. I should be able to climb up and get out of here, at least if my plan would work. I didn't have time to weigh my options though, as I knew that the creatures were getting closer with every passing second.

I kept my hands in place and used my feet to set myself off against the stone, taking my first step up. My arm was burning but I had to focus on getting out of here rather than on being hurt. I realized that if I didn't I'd be in a lot more trouble, as there were now at least three of those winged things beneath me, wailing angrily.

For once I was grateful of the light shining down, keeping the creatures at bay, for the moment at least. The light might hurt them, but it wouldn't take long before they realized that if they wanted to get to me they had no choice but to take a step forward. That was all it took, one step and I could die.

I put my right foot a bit higher against the wall, pushing myself up another two feet. I would've been able to get out like that, getting closer and closer to ground level. Turned out that fate had something else planned however, as that was the moment the wound in my side sent a sharp pain through my side.

I cursed, knowing exactly what was happening. The rope had been at its limit before, causing the damned flashlight to fall. Now it was preventing me from getting out of here as well. I had to unclasp it, or cut through it, if I wanted to get out, the latter being impossible because I didn't have my knife with me. God I hated myself for being this stupid right now.

Suddenly there was a hard tug on the rope, catching me off guard and doubling me over. I fell down several feet before I could lock myself in place against the walls again, this time with my back and my feet against the sides. I ground my teeth together in pain as the rope kept being pulled. When the tugging was finally over I let out a breath and braced myself, in case it would start all over again, while thinking of what to do now. I would have to cut the rope if I wanted out of here, I had no choice. These things were even smarter than I'd thought them to be, having found that if they pulled the rope I'd come down one way or another. If I tried to unclasp it now and they tugged again, I'd definitely fall down and that would be the end of me.

I didn't like asking for help, hated it actually. Whenever I did, something bad would happen to the person helping me, or something would happen _because_ of that person. Considering I didn't like people much I also didn't mind working alone. I was mostly able to get out of trouble by myself as well, right now was an exception I didn't like to admit to.

I listened, trying to find the voice closest to the tunnel.

"Paris!" I yelled out as loud as I could, feeling ridiculous for even believing he would hear me but having to try anyway. "In here Paris! I need help!"

A screech came from underneath me and I cringed. There was no response from Paris though, I could still hear him talking happily. When I tried again though Jack started shushing everyone. I smiled, liking the kid more and more. She was really perceptive for her age and I was glad she was or I might've been stuck here a lot longer.

"I think it was somewhere over here." She said, waiting for me to call out again.

"I'm in-" I let out a surprised yelp as there was another tug on the rope, I was able to stay in place now though, lucky me.

"Xia!" Jack yelled down in shock as she saw me hanging around the middle of the tunnel now. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," I said, even if I obviously wasn't. Didn't have time to be sarcastic, or explanatory in any way. "I need something sharp!" I grunted as I tried to shift my position a little to stop the pain in my side, "Something to cut the rope with."

"Does someone-" She started asking but was cut off as I let out a slight yelp once again, the strength of the next tug making me want to growl out in pain. The stitches were being pressed into my skin painfully, another reason to hate the things.

I could hear Jack's heart hammering in her chest, even louder than mine, and I felt her hesitation about something.

"Does anyone have a knife?" I heard her ask again, more urgent this time. No one answered.

I heard her shift her weight from one foot to the other when suddenly there were more people, causing shadows to form on my face.

"Oh shit." I heard Fry's curse as she saw me. "We have to find a way to get her out of there." She told the rest. I heard more murmurs from them until Paris' voice sounded down the tunnel.

"Hang in there, Xia." He said, sounding nervous.

I actually laughed at this, "Is that meant as a pun?" I asked him.

"Oh, no! I-" He started but Jack interrupted him. "I've got it." She said, sounding almost regretting. I couldn't think too much about it though as the rope was being pulled again and I had to concentrate on staying in place instead.

"Throw it to me," I instructed through clenched teeth but loud enough for her to hear.

I heard Paris' gasp at whatever she was holding, but he didn't say anything.

"But you-" She protested, I just shook my head. "Jack, I need it. Now." She sighed and then I heard it.

The falling of an object, in this case something sharp, doesn't generate a loud sound, not at all. Actually even _I_ could easily have missed it over the sounds still coming from underground. I knew what to expect though, and so I concentrated on the sound of air being cut as the knife, or whatever it was, fell down.

I took a deep breath and reached for it, keeping my shoulders pressed back against the wall. I caught it with my right hand, instantly leaning back again so that the stress was off my shoulders. I heard Paris and Jack both gasp but it was just a whisper in the back of my mind as I realized what I was holding. It had cut through my hand, having no handle, and I'd instantly recognized it. It was a shiv, and not only that, it was Riddick's shiv. I could smell him on it, he'd probably been keeping it on his person. So what Jack was doing with it?

It was stupid of me to let my mind wander like that, I have to admit that even I can't believe I let it happen, but it was too late now. The distraction had given the creatures the upper hand, and as the rope was tugged down once again, I felt myself fall before I could help it and this time I had no chance of locking myself in place again.

"Xia!" Jack yelled.


	10. Nobody Touches My Woman

**_Author's note:_**

**_HeyHey everyone,_**

**_Here is the next chapter! I seriously hope you guys like it! Please let me know through reviews, follows or favorites! _**

**_Special thanks to those who reviewed: Shika93, DarknessMakesMeSmile and the guest reviewer_**

**_( DarknessMakesMeSmile: I know exactly what you mean haha. I wish that school could just disappear or something ;))_**

**_(just so u know I lovee reviews ^^) Haha, ok so hope you enjoy!_**

_Chapter 9: Nobody touches my woman_

Riddick's POV

I was sitting back with my eyes closed, pretty relaxed actually. The chains around my wrists weren't really bothering me, I'd encountered too many of them for that to be the case. There was something that was disturbing me though, a feeling I was having. It was an instinctive feeling that had manifested the moment the two women left. The girl from before, Jack, had come back down from her hiding place again, having returned there after having been ordered out of here. She'd inspected me curiously; her head cocked to the side, as she skipped down the stairs.

"Weren't you ordered to leave?" I had asked her, amused by both her disobedience and her curiosity.

She had made a face at those words, "I'm not going to be ordered around by some-" She'd stopped and I'd known exactly what she had wanted to say. 'By some bitch' sounded like something a boy would say, at least that probably was what she had been thinking. She hadn't been able to bring herself to say it though; instead she had decided to just leave the sentence to what it was.

She had come standing in front of me and had inspected me closely. She'd been feeling nervous about something but I hadn't been able to figure out about what, other than the fact she was alone with a convicted killer.

"Is there something you want from me?" I had asked her, cocking my own head to the side and looking her over. As I had smelt the air surrounding her I'd noticed something peculiar about her scent, something familiar. It took me about a second to realize what the smell was and I had my eyes narrowed in an instant.

Her nervousness had changed into fear at my sudden change in expression. She'd nodded slowly, scared of me. "I-" She'd started, then swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. "I found this."

She had taken one of my shivs out of her pocket and had held it out for me to see. "It was on the ground and I didn't want to leave it there." She'd rattled on, obviously trying to make me understand. "I didn't mean to take it from you; or to keep it from you this long but-"

I had tuned out of what she was saying the moment I'd recognized the smell of the shiv. I had been on the verge of growling at her, the thought of someone else even holding my weapon making me feel just a bit on edge, but didn't. Not because she was a kid, not because she was feeling sorry, not even because she hadn't meant to keep it from me, but because _that _feeling had started. My instincts were telling me that I shouldn't concern myself with this; that the shiv was in good hands with this girl. And, as much as I hated to right now, I knew when to listen to my instincts.

"I understand." I had said, interrupting her ranting.

She'd stopped instantly, her eyes wide. "So-" She'd started. "Can I keep it?"

That wasn't exactly something you'd ask a convicted murderer, right? Not that it mattered, my instincts had still been telling me to let her keep it, for reasons I didn't know. I nodded, "For now." I said. "You might need it soon."

I didn't know exactly what had brought me to say that, but the moment I spoke the words I knew it was true. The kid however didn't take any notice to that last sentence; she just kept grinning from ear to ear and thanking me. At the sound of her name, called out by Fry, she thanked me one last time before turning around and following after the others, leaving me alone to wonder about what the hell was going to happen that this girl would need my shiv.

Ever since that question has been running through my mind and, considering everyone had gone along to where the Aboriginal got killed, I had nothing to distract me from those thoughts. Well there was that fascinating woman, Xia, but somehow when I thought of her the feeling that something was going to happen got even stronger.

I stretched my neck as I instead focused my attention on what would be happening at the site of the murder right about now. Fry probably had gone down the hole, still deciding on if she could believe me or not. Chances are she might have gotten hurt already, killed even, by the animals living underground. What would happen if she was dead? I guessed I'd be blamed, seeing as to how I'd been the one to tell her to look deeper. I chuckled softly at the thought of them being pissed at me, as if that would get them anywhere. They could of course decide to kill me, like Fry had said before, but let's face it, that wasn't going to happen. The moment they would decide something like that I'd know, and it wouldn't end well for those involved. I would have to find a way to escape with Xia though, I wouldn't go without her.

I wasn't sure what was so fascinating about that woman. Not that she was ugly, quite on the contrary, I'd fuck her every day, but there was something different about her. Something that made her more than 'just a fuck', something that gave her meaning and I couldn't figure out what that 'something' was.

I'd heard her appear at the door earlier, guess she had been on her way to talk to me. She stopped the minute she heard Fry's voice however, listening in to our conversation, well _Fry's_ conversation. I hadn't really been replying, nor had I been planning to. When I heard her growl however, I changed my mind. She was jealous and I couldn't help but smirk at that fact. The growl also gave me the urge to show her she had nothing to be jealous about. This 'captain', or whatever she called herself, wasn't even close to being as fascinating as she was.

I smiled slightly at the memory. I'd told her I'd see her again later, alone. She'd rolled her eyes but I hadn't missed the wild glint in them, making me want to growl. I didn't though, knowing that if I did she wouldn't have been able to control herself and, as much as I wanted her, this wasn't exactly the right time or place.

_Xia!_

I froze at the sound of the girl's scream. It was loud, reaching me through the echoes of the tunnels. I strained to hear anything else and felt my blood run cold as I heard the girl scream for Xia again, sounding more than horrified. I heard other things, angry screeches and the flapping of wings. The planet was vibrating with the anger of the creatures, their longing for blood.

I clenched my fists and pulled hard on my restraints, trying to get them to break, they didn't. Before I'd been able to escape through a gap in the thing I'd been chained to, but now there was no such thing and these restraints were stronger than the ones from before. I guessed Johns had used his spare cuffs on me earlier, those weren't especially designed for me like these were.

I snarled knowing that whatever I'd felt was going to happen, was happening now, and as I thought, I didn't fucking like it. I ground my teeth together in frustration as I snarled again and tried to pull the restraints free. I didn't even fucking know what was going on! I'd been convinced Fry would go down that fucking hole, not caring one bit about what happened to that 'captain'. The sound of the scream however suggested that Xia had gone down instead, which, to say the least, pissed me the fuck off.

I knew that I shouldn't have started caring about her, like I shouldn't care about anyone. Something would always happen to the people close to me, I _knew _that. This time however I hadn't been able to help myself. My animal side had told me that she was mine, it had told me that from the moment I first saw her I only hadn't realized it then. Now I knew better.

I let out another growl as I thought back to the valley of bones. I had felt the urge to mark her as mine then, I should've. Instead I let her go with nothing but my scent on her, which wasn't fucking enough for the creatures down there to leave her alone. I had to think of something, and fast, because she was in serious trouble and I wasn't there to protect her from it.

I was on my feet now, still tugging on my restraints to break them. My mind was working quick, trying to find something to do that would help her. My animal side was going insane but I had to think rationally now instead of letting it take over. She needed me to be rational.

I heard a loud screech coming from one of the creatures down there and then I snapped, my animal side too strong to keep at bay anymore. I was infuriated, letting an ear-deafening and menacing growl escape my lips while putting all my weight in the last tug I gave on my restraints.

That growl held every single thing I was feeling, loud enough for all the creatures down there to hear. It was one message; and one message alone. I knew that the things would understand, if they didn't they were dead meat. If she died I would kill every single one of those things, until this whole planet was as dead as that boneyard had been. On top of that I would kill Johns, Fry and every other survivor just for not stopping her from going down there. If she died, they did, as simple as that. Because _nobody_ touches my woman.

* * *

Xia's POV

I let a growl escape my lips as I landed hard on my shoulder, a sharp pain shooting through both my arm and my side. This time though I didn't take my time to think about things, as that was exactly what had gotten me into this mess.

There was another tug on the rope and I felt myself being pulled towards the creatures that were now in front of me. I could hear three different heartbeats, all going at the same speed, and low menacing breaths. I was pulled to the one closest to me, who screeched as he jumped forward to attack me. I'd been pulled back into the darkness of the tunnel, giving them all full access to me without having to enter the light, and that wasn't a good thing.

The thing threw itself on top of me, its jaws snapping shut just inches from my face. I reacted quick though and evaded its next attempt to bite through my neck and kill me. I pulled my knees to my chest and then kicked the thing off. It tried to grab me as it flew backwards against the other creatures, resulting in several scratches on my leg caused by its claws digging into my flesh.

_Oh great, _I thought, as I was now bleeding and so a much more interesting prey to these things than before. I didn't take too long to think about that though, using the little time the creatures needed to orientate themselves again to cut through the rope. These things, especially the ones in front of me now, saw me as one giant toy to play with and I wouldn't cease to be that toy until I cut through the damn string that I was attached to. I clenched my hand around the shiv and put all force into the cutting, wanting to get loose as soon as possible. It took longer than I had expected however and the creatures, who were not exactly happy with what had happened, were all slowly getting closer. I saw it in their stances as I looked up, they were enjoying the desperation of their prey. The funny thing was that I wasn't desperate, just determined, and that was something they didn't consider.

When the three of them were just inches away from me, the rope finally snapped. I was up on my feet in no time, facing them with the shiv ready in my hand. The one who had failed to kill me before was now behind the other two. I knew that one of said other two would be coming after me next, if he failed the third would come and if he failed all three of them would attack at the same time. One thing was for sure, they didn't want me to get away.

All three were moving their heads from side to side to keep track of my movements. I could've used their blind spots, if they had been alone. Now there wasn't much use for it.

I narrowed my eyes as I took a step back, making the first one let out a warning screech that was supposed to keep me in place. The second step I took backwards drew one of the two out, it launching itself at me with full force, exactly what I'd been counting on.

These things were like every other animal, loving a chase. They also knew how to elicit a chase from their prey. Best way is to just attack, most animals would start running out of instinct. This time however they weren't up against some normal animal, so it didn't work. Instead their prey fought back, their prey being me.

I evaded the thing's initial attack by jumping to the side, using the shiv in my hand to slice its arm open. I had to grind my teeth at the screech that followed and felt my ears ring as I evaded another attack. The third attack knocked me over though, which was exactly what I needed, though I only found out when I was on the ground. I made sure not to move as I waited for the hunter to check if his prey was still alive. The moment it was right above me I sprang into action, digging the shiv right into the weak spot I'd found earlier on. I was shoved back hard by the creature, shiv still in my hands, and decided that was the moment to bolt.

I might've survived this, which in truth was only because the other creatures hadn't involved themselves with the fight, but a next attack probably wouldn't end as well. I heard the ear-deafening screeches behind me, coming both from the mortally wounded creature and the other two, who were furious. I was half limping, my leg still hurting, but lucky for me the light at the end of the tunnel was close, literally.

I have never been as happy to lose my eyesight, sighing in relief as I reached the light that shone down into the tunnel. I felt two of the creatures behind me and turned around, pressing my back against the wall so that I was as far into the light as possible. I heard their angry breaths and hisses, sounding satisfied as I was now finally trapped. The quick heartbeat from the creature I'd stabbed just moments ago was slowly fading into the background noises of all the other creatures in the tunnel.

I stood tall, staring right in front of me with the shiv digging into my hand painfully. Pain was good though, it meant I was still alive. Suddenly one of the creatures moved quickly, cutting the skin on my stomach with its tail. I heard it hiss at the contact with the light, but knew that that wouldn't stop them from killing me now. I'd killed one of them, and they weren't happy at all.

What now?

I tried to stay calm as I contemplated the situation. It wasn't good, that was for sure, but there had to be something I could do. When I sensed the same creature moving again, the same way it had before, I reached out and grabbed its tale. I heard it whine as I cut through the skin of its tale, being slammed back against the wall a second later. My breath was knocked out of me and I slumped to the floor trying to catch my breath. The next thing I felt was the slightest shift in the other creature's weight, alarming me that it would be over soon if I didn't get up now. I couldn't though. My arms and legs felt heavy, my whole body hurt and I hit my head against the wall hard enough to make me slightly light headed.

The loud screech that followed right before I got attacked made me clamp my eyes shut in pain. I braced myself for the attack, holding up my shiv in a pathetic attempt to protect myself from the thing. I decided that moment, with a new feral power rising in me, that I wouldn't go down without taking the damn bastard with me. I didn't get the chance to kill it though, as the attack never came. Instead there was a loud, menacing growl that sounded throughout the entire tunnel system, making my eyes fly open and my heart speed up.

The consistent noise of the animals further into the tunnels, that I'd heard from the moment we crash landed on this rock, instantly stopped, making it eerily quiet. The growl had made the entire planet quiet, which I guessed was something that had never happened before.

The creature in front of me, who had been ready to strike just moments ago, had suddenly straightened. The other one was cowering backwards to his fallen brother. I knew what was stopping them from killing me right now, as the growl still resonated in the air, and I quickly scrambled to my feet. The creature raised his head and a hesitant screech left its mouth. It didn't move to attack me however, nor did it move away.

The growl hadn't been random, far from that. Actually these things are quite frequent among animals, less around humans. It was a clear signal to everyone, including other species, to stay the hell away from the male's mate. Every animal used it, but their growls varied in power. Alpha males had more powerful growls than those beneath them.

The thing in front of me now knew that if it killed me the person behind that growl, which was without a doubt an alpha male, would come after it and not rest until it had died. That is just how the animal kingdom works; every animal had that instinctive knowledge, even me. I didn't have time to concentrate on what the growl meant just yet though; first I had to get the hell out of here.

I felt strangely safe, considering the creature who had tried to kill me before was still just inches away from me, but didn't mind all that much. It gave me new strength, strength to get moving. I reached out to the walls with my hands and started feeling for something to grab ahold of. When I found a rock sticking out I grabbed it and pulled myself up quickly.

The climb seemed to go quicker now than it had before and I soon noticed Jack's eyes on me again as I appeared. I felt Johns' and Fry's eyes on me as well as the girl called out my name in surprise and delight.

"Grab my hand." Fry called down, reaching down for me. I took ahold of it quickly and felt both her and Johns pull me out. I landed on my knees, feeling both relieved and slightly disappointed that I couldn't see anymore. I took a deep breath and then chuckled softly, thinking of how stupid of me it had been to even take a flashlight with me. I guess I'd asked for something to go wrong by doing that.

"What happened?" Fry asked as she scanned me with her eyes. I kept the shiv hidden in my hand, not wanting her to see it. If she did she'd probably start asking questions, which I didn't even have an answer to.

"Flashlight startled the things living down there," I answered her, "Guess they don't like light much. Wanted me dead after that."

"How'd you survive?" Johns asked incredulously.

I looked up at him with an eyebrow raised, not liking his suspicious tone. I got up on my feet and slid the shiv in my pocket to hide it from sight as I stretched out. I heard Jack gasp at the sight of my wounds, which probably looked a lot worse than they felt, and smiled reassuringly at where the sound had come from. "It's fine." I told the gray mass that was Jack softly. "Just gotta disinfect it later, it'll be fine after that."

"Did you find Zeke?" Shazza asked next, softly. I looked up at her with a regretful look on my face, shaking my head slowly. "Whatever almost got to me, got to him to." I answered her reluctantly.

"So the damn guy was telling the truth." Fry muttered and I felt a pang of anger go through me as she didn't sound all too happy with that. I couldn't snap at her for no particular reason though, that would surely attract attention.

"Well?" Johns asked again, sounding slightly annoyed with the fact I hadn't answered before. "How _did _you survive?"

I shot him a glare before smiling sweetly, "Guess I was lucky." I told him with a menacing undertone. He grunted something and I rolled my eyes, God the guy could be annoying.

The truth was however that I actually _was _lucky. If Riddick hadn't growled like he did, I would've ended up in a pool of blood instead of back up here with the rest. You could damn well call that 'lucky'.

_Riddick, _I thought, replaying the growl in my head and feeling my heart skip a beat as I did. There was no way he had been able to fake that growl, nor was there any way I could ignore the way my heart had sped up when hearing it. To be honest, it had sounded damn sexy, even while looking right in the eyes of death.

I bit my lip, knowing that I had to see the man rather sooner than later. Actually, I needed to see the man _now._


	11. Losing Control

_**Author's note: Hey everyone,**_

_**First of all I want to thank my guest reviewers, jordan91, loveorpain, Rosmund Chadwick, DeathlylceMaiden, shika93, DarknessMakesMeSmile, aLeXaNdRaSaInSbUrY for reviewing! I love reading reviews and appreciate every single one of them so thanks so much for taking the time to read and review :)**_

_**Second, well I don't have much to say apart from that I hope you will like this chapter as well! Next chapter might take a bit longer because I've got a major school project to work on, and I'm already ignoring that for this chapter, but it'll come. Until then, please review and let me know what you think!**_

_Chapter 10: Losing Control_

People could be so fucking annoying.

Yeah ok, they only wanted me to take care of my wounds before I would go do anything else, so technically they were doing something good, but still. If Jack hadn't insisted on taking care of the scratches, I'm sure I would've beaten Johns to Riddick. Now though, after disinfecting everything and bandaging it all up, I arrived at the door much like last time, hearing another voice in there with him.

To say I didn't like to hear the merc's voice would be an understatement, I hated it, even more than hearing Fry's voice. I didn't trust that guy one bit and knew that he formed a danger, regardless of how good Riddick was at protecting himself. Even though I wanted to walk right inside and make Johns leave one way or another, I knew I couldn't. Barging in there without a good reason would attract too much attention to Riddick and me, and attention is something we would do better avoiding.

So instead I stayed outside and listened in to their conversation, talk about Déjà vu.

"So here's the deal." I heard Johns say, obviously not happy with whatever he was making clear to the convict. "You work without chains, without a bit and without shivs. You do _what_ I say, _when_ I say it."

I raised an eyebrow at those words, not sure what he meant. Was he letting the convict go? It sure sounded like it. That didn't make sense though. Of course he hadn't killed Zeke, that much was clear, but a merc would never let his catch go, especially not one that could disappear any moment he pleased. Johns was acting out of character, and I didn't trust it.

"For what?" Riddick challenged the guy, probably thinking the same thing I was thinking. "The honor of going back to some asshole of a cell?" He laughed dryly at the thought, "Fuck you." he then said.

I couldn't help but smirk as I heard those words, at the same time trying to think of a good way to get inside without being noticed. It wasn't that I was expecting to see anything, quite the opposite. The time I'd spent underground had been enough to make my eyes adjust to it, which made my surroundings every bit as grey as it always was. I couldn't stay outside of the door though, not like this. If I got caught by anyone I'd have to explain what I was doing, and how would I do that? Plus I knew that if I went inside I would at the very least be able to see one thing, Riddick's eyes, which was all I wanted really.

"The truth is," Johns started, making himself sound slightly defeated but fooling no one. "I'm tired of chasing you."

I stopped myself from scoffing, knowing full well that mercs were never tired of the chase. Actually, they loved chasing after their prey, much like animals. I also knew that they wouldn't just give up on someone like this, especially not if that someone was a convict like Riddick.

I walked inside slowly, knowing exactly how to stalk up on people without being noticed. I'd learned as much in the jungle, and outside. Both humans and animals have a certain sixth sense that tells them when someone is near. To survive, I had to learn to avoid being detected by said sixth sense. Best way to do that is to avoid being too silent. Silence scares people, it makes their hairs stand on end and a certain tingling sensation start in their necks. That's because it's never completely silent. So instead I let a small amount of noise seep through my cover of silence, making sure not to make too much, which would alarm the merc. When I arrived at the other side of the room, just behind the stairs Jack had come down from before, I hit behind some scrap metal that had broken off the ship. I made sure that Johns wouldn't spot me if for some reason he decided to turn around, and waited for Riddick to answer his phony confession.

"Are you saying you'd cut me loose?" Riddick asked the guy incredulously. I'd felt his eyes follow me before, while making my way through the room, and now our gazes locked, his looking quite amused. Johns didn't seem to notice though, as he just went on, telling Riddick that he could've died in the crash if it was up to him.

Riddick's eyes moved from me to the merc and he cocked his head to the side a little. Like I'd thought before I could only see the white of his eyes as they reflected light, but I didn't mind, it was enough. I saw the contemplation in his eyes and waited for his answer in anticipation.

"My recommendation:" He then said, calm as ever. "_Do_ me. Don't take the chance that I'll get shiv-happy on your wanna-be ass."

I might've found it funny, I really might've. _If _he hadn't just told the merc to kill him that is.

I clenched my fists and locked my jaws tightly together so no sound would escape. What the fuck was he thinking saying something like that? He couldn't just tell some guy to kill him, especially not when the guy in question wouldn't have any problems with that.

"Ok." Johns simply said, but he didn't move.

"Ghost me." Riddick continued. "That's what I'd do to you."

I heard the merc's reach for his gun, raising it. His breaths were calm and his heartbeat was steady, just like Riddick. Two animals staring each other down. The only difference, one of them had a gun.

I clenched my fists even harder, the cut that I'd received from the shiv before stinging painfully and probably starting to bleed again, but I didn't care. I had to save him from the merc, the same way he'd saved me from those damn creatures. I couldn't let him get killed.

As those thoughts went through my mind and I was about to get up and jump the merc, not really thinking about the consequences my actions would have, a low growl escaped Riddick's lips. I froze at the sound, staring right at him. His eyes soon found mine, his warning look ordering me to stay in place. I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling more than furious, but that didn't help the fact that I couldn't move, I just simply couldn't.

My feet were glued to the floor and my arms were stuck to my side. I couldn't straighten, I couldn't make a sound and worst of all, I couldn't see a damn thing of what was happening. I was paralyzed, unable to do anything and on top of all that I was blind.

I ground my teeth as I squeezed my eyes shut, the one thing I _was _able to do. I tried to focus on breaking free of the invisible hold on me, but it was no use, it was too strong.

A sudden gunshot sounded through the room and I heard the rattling of chains. My heart stopped that instant and my breath caught in my throat.

_No_, I thought in despair. I wasn't scared often, but now that was exactly how you could qualify my feelings. From the thousands thoughts running through my head, none were good. He could be dead, or seriously injured, and somehow that made my stomach tighten and a sick feeling take ahold of me. _What will I do without him? _I asked myself. It was ridiculous really, considering I'd done fine without him before, but logic had left me the moment I'd heard the gunshot.

"I want you to remember this moment." Johns then said, and I let out a soft whimper of relief. I never thought I'd be happy to hear his voice, but knowing he wouldn't talk to a dead guy made it sound pretty damn good at the moment. "The way it could have gone and didn't." He continued, but I was only half listening now, my mind occupied with other things.

I'd opened my eyes again at the sound of his voice and had soon found Riddick staring right at me, and intense look in his eyes. The pressure that had been there before, making me unable to move, was now fading and I lowered myself backwards from the crouch, slumping down on the floor. My heart was hammering away in my chest and it took me a moment to control my breathing. In the meantime I tried to focus on what exactly was happening in front of me.

In the back of my mind I heard Riddick's quick movements, grabbing Johns' gun and aiming it right at him. Johns said something but I wasn't really paying all too much attention to it. While earlier on this turn of events would've interested me to now end, especially because Johns was being held at gunpoint, now it felt entirely different. Instead of listening to them I was trying to find out what exactly had happened, putting pieces together and getting angrier by the second.

"Fuck you!" Riddick growled in anger, as if he was mirroring my feelings. _I _wasn't mad at the merc however, quite the opposite.

"Do we have a deal?" Johns asked, still trying to act calm. I knew Riddick could hear his heartbeat and smell his sweat as well as I could, he was probably enjoying it. Merc's all act high and mighty but in the end they're all scared, and I had to admit it was fun to see them like that.

"I want you to remember this moment." The convict mimicked Johns, snatching something from the merc's hand. I slowly heard Johns' heart calm down as he swallowed away his fear. He turned around and left the room quickly, obviously not feeling comfortable enough around the guy right now. He'd recover soon enough though, become his old annoying self again.

I got up to my feet the moment he was out of the room and walked straight up to Riddick with just one intention. When he turned around to me with what seemed like a slight smirk on his face, I reached up with my hand and slapped him hard across the cheek as a low snarl escaped my lips.

Yeah ok, that wasn't exactly how I'd imagined seeing him again would go either, but he'd pissed me off pretty bad just now and I wasn't going to let that slide just yet.

"A kitty with claws." He muttered as he turned his head back to me and inspected my face in interest rather than anger. "Hello to you too."

I wasn't sure I liked to be called a 'kitty' but some stupid nickname wasn't going to distract me right now. I narrowed my eyes at him to show him I wasn't just playing around and bared my teeth. "You can't fucking do that." I hissed through clenched teeth.

I wasn't sure myself if I was referring to the thing with Johns, the fact that he'd told the guy to kill him; or the thing he did to me, but either way I was pretty damn pissed at this guy right now.

I shook my head as a shiver ran down my spine at the memory of not being able to move. It reminded me of how helpless I'd felt so many times before, every time something was about to happen to those I cared about. And yes, it was fair to say that I cared about Riddick, whichever way you looked at it. The thought of being there as he got killed, not being able to do anything to save him, it hurt more than anything had ever hurt in my life, and I didn't fucking like it.

I ground my teeth together as I decided to focus on what he'd said rather than what he'd done, knowing that the latter would drive me crazy if I thought about it too much.

"How did you know he wouldn't do it?" I asked him after a moment of silence, his eyes watching me carefully. My voice still sounded mad and I knew that he noticed that as well. We were standing about two feet apart from each other and as he shrugged at my question his smell reached my nostrils, side-tracking me.

"The guy's a coward." He answered calmly, but I didn't miss the look on his face. Those white eyes of his which I guessed were a mystery to about everyone else, betrayed him.

"You didn't fucking know, did you?" I hissed, my anger flaring up again.

He cocked his head to the side as his eyes studied me intently. I wasn't sure what he was doing but didn't really care either. I cared a lot more about the fact that he didn't answer my question, which in itself told me exactly what the answer was.

"Fuck." I cursed, turning away from him and starting to pace towards the door. I wasn't sure if I really intended to leave, or just needed to walk my anger off, but I didn't get the chance for either of those things as I felt Riddick's presence appear behind me. His hand locked around my wrist and he pulled me back against his chest hard. I wanted to shove him away, to spin around and slap him again, but the moment my back hit his chest my body instantly relaxed, as if I had no control over it whatsoever. He leaned in and nuzzled my neck from behind, his breath making the hairs on my arms rise.

"Why are you mad?" He asked in a tone that told me he had an idea but he needed me to tell him anyway.

Normally the fact someone asked me why I was mad would've made me explode, but it was different this time. Maybe it was my animal side telling me to turn around and wrap my arms around his neck, or maybe it was just the fact that I felt safe. Not that it really mattered, I would've swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and turned around either way. He straightened as I did so, his eyes searching for mine. It was the only thing I could see of him, but it was enough for now.

"I couldn't move before." I started as calmly as I could, which I had to admit wasn't _that_ calm. "When Johns had his gun aimed at you." I clarified. I narrowed my eyes at the memory again and let out a low growl, "You did that."

I'd wanted to sound mad, menacing even, but instead the only thing I could clearly hear in my voice was my own vulnerability.

His look changed and he brushed my hair out of my face lightly. "If you had intervened, he might've killed you." He replied in a tense voice. "I couldn't let that happen."

I clenched my jaw and backed away from his hand, "And I wouldn't mind you getting killed?" I asked with a snarl. "Where the fuck did that logic come from?"

I'd expected some calm answer again, but this time he growled as well, taking a step closer to me and pulling me roughly against his chest. "There is no fucking logic!" He snarled back. I didn't flinch from his loud and angry voice, nor did I try to take a step back. Instead I stood tall and stared him right in the eye as he continued. "Nothing is fucking logical anymore since I met you. When Johns had that gun out, there was just one thing I knew for sure. I wouldn't let you get killed because of that fucker."

"But you'd get yourself-?" I started shouting but he cut me off by growling again. He started backing me up, until I was with my back against the wall. Our eyes were locked and I saw something I couldn't quite describe. The feeling was strong though, that was clear. "You did the same." He hissed under his breath as he had me cornered, his face not far from mine.

I must've looked confused because he elaborated further, sounding slightly annoyed. "Why the fuck did you decide to go down that fucking hole?" He asked as he pushed me further into the wall. I cringed as he had my arm, which was still sore from the scratches, pinned behind my back. I couldn't help myself and when he noticed he backed away instantly, though not far.

His eyes were narrowed and anger was evident in them, not directed at me though. I felt him inspect me closely as he hissed. "You're hurt." He stated, leaning in and smelling the air surrounding me. "Those things hurt you."

"That's not important right now." I tried, wanting the anger to leave his eyes. Instead I just flared it, his head snapping up at the words as he charged forward and hit the wall behind me with both his fists, leaving his arms next to my head and his face just inches from mine.

"That's not important?" He hissed in absolute fury, his breath on my lips.

I didn't know what to say anymore, knowing there was nothing to say that would calm him down right now. Instead I followed my instincts, reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck as I placed my lips against his and I pulled myself closer to him.

He froze. I guess I'd surprised him, which obviously doesn't happen often. I backed away a little again and watched him, our breaths intermingled, both heavy and erratic. His eyes were studying me closely and I saw that he wanted to push me against the wall again, only for whole other purposes this time. He didn't however, as my 'being hurt' was more important.

"How bad are you hurt?" He asked softly, his heart rate slowly starting to calm down. I leaned back against the wall and shrugged, "Just a little," I told him, my breaths evening out again, "Nothing to worry about."

He sighed and looked me in the eye, not sure if he should believe me I guessed. His hands were still leaning against the wall beside my face and he chuckled dryly. "Why do I care so much?" He muttered, though it wasn't really a question meant for me, or anyone for that matter.

I absentmindedly reached for the cheek I'd slapped before. "I don't know." I said with a sigh as I traced it with my fingertips. "I can't explain it."

His eyes glowed as he watched me, I felt my heart flutter under his gaze. He then leaned in and put his cheek against mine, breathing in my scent.

"Me neither," he whispered. "But I can't say I mind it much." He continued with a slightly husky voice as he trailed his lips down my cheek to the base of my neck. I automatically tilted my head back a little and let out an involuntary purr. He chuckled at the sound and grazed his teeth against my skin at the exact spot I wanted him to. As I felt it I shuddered in delight, wanting nothing more but for him to mark me as his. He reached out with his tongue and licked the area he was going to bite down in, making me moan softly. I reached up and cupped his bald head with one hand, closing my eyes and just waiting for him to-

"Xia!" Jack's voice sounded, interrupting us. An annoyed growl escaped from Riddick's lips as he lifted his head, I knew exactly how he felt.

I pushed him away from me within a second and shot him a warning look, showing him that he better not say or do anything to upset Jack. Then I looked up at the stairs and saw the girl standing there, her face red as she realized she had interrupted something just now. She seemed to be at a loss of words for a moment and I smiled at her reassuringly.

"What's up?" I asked her, trying to sound calmer than I felt. My heart was speeding and my breath was erratic, it was safe to say I was still a bit shaken, though in a good way.

"We're about to leave," she quickly said as she recovered. "I was supposed to get you and Riddick." she gestured to the both of us and back up.

I frowned at the sound of that but quickly smiled. "Tell them we'll be right there."

She nodded and soon disappeared again, but not before glancing back at us one last time with a curious look in her eyes.

I looked back at Riddick and somehow knew that he was smirking again. "The kid has taken a liking to you." He told me with an amused undertone.

I raised an eyebrow, "I think she likes you just as much." I told him, "More even than me."

He chuckled at that and grabbed me by the waist, pulling me close against him. "They all seem so keen on interrupting us." He said then.

I grinned, "I'm sure that's exactly what they aim to do." I backed away from him and winked, taking him by the arm. "Now come on, we gotta go."

He didn't move, and tugging on his arm wasn't helping, so I stopped and just waited for him to say what was on his mind.

"We could stay here, you know." He offered. "We could find a way to survive by ourselves."

I looked at him and cocked my head to the side. It sounded so tempting, no one there to interrupt us anymore, but I couldn't. "And leave the others to fend for themselves?" I asked him.

He shrugged, obviously not caring about them. "Why not?"

"'Cause we can't," I told him sternly, not trusting Johns enough to take care of everybody and not about to condemn them to their deaths just because I wanted some alone time with this guy here, though I did want some. "Now come on." I said, inclining my head to the stairs.


End file.
